Hurricane Beryl lashed Jamaica with strong winds and a deluge of rain and powerful waves before the Category 4 storm pulled away on a path that will take it near the Cayman Islands, officials said.
Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph as its center skirted the southern coast of the Caribbean nation of 2.8 million Wednesday afternoon, and by 11 p.m. its center was past the island and continuing west in the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm, which had made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in July before it was downgraded from Category 5 to Category 4, has been blamed for at least seven deaths as it devastated parts of the Windward Islands and caused flooding and damage in Venezuela.
No deaths have been reported in Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. He said the hurricane was moving quickly, "which is good for us. The quicker it moves, the better."
"Generally, I would say that we have not seen the worst of what could possibly happen," Holness said. "We still have a few hours to go."
Around 500 people in Jamaica were in shelters, Holness said. Authorities in the Cayman Islands also opened shelters.
The hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of around 130 mph, was forecast to pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight into Thursday, the hurricane center said.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., with Beryl's path uncertain, state authorities in Texas have warned people in coastal areas to be prepared and "weather aware" over the holiday weekend in case tropical weather reaches the U.S.' Gulf Coast.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to issue a hurricane advisory notice to the Texas Emergency Management Council.
Abbott said the state "stands ready to deploy all available resources and support to our coastal communities."
The storm has destroyed homes and devastated farms on islands across the Caribbean.
The small island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was badly hit, with at least one person dead and more casualties feared. In Grenada, where at least three people have died, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said many homes had been destroyed and called the storm's effect "Armageddon-like." Venezuela was hit by heavy flooding, and at least three people have died there, with four more missing, President Nicolás Maduro said.
In Barbados, the fishing community and coastline were hit hard, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said. In a video shared on X, large waves crashed over a hotel balcony in Dover Beach.
On Monday, Beryl strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane, and early Tuesday its maximum sustained winds reached a record-breaking 165 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, making it the strongest July hurricane on record.
Beryl has weakened as it has moved west across the Caribbean Sea toward the Gulf of Mexico — but it is still forecast to be at or near major hurricane status when it passes south of the Cayman Islands.
While the storm weakened slightly as it approached Jamaica, authorities made it clear that it is a major weather event that should not be taken lightly.
"If you live in a low-lying area, an area that is historically prone to flooding and landslide, or if you live on the banks of a river ... I implore you to evacuate to a shelter or to safer ground," Holness, Jamaica's prime minister, said in a video statement Tuesday.
Casey and Warner Haley, of Knoxville, Tennessee, were enjoying their honeymoon after they were married Saturday when they were told they needed to hunker down at their resort in Montego Bay.
"Yesterday morning it was perfect weather. We went snorkeling and we went kayaking, and by the time we got back, the forecast had changed," Casey, 23, said in a phone interview Wednesday.
The couple said they immediately contacted their travel agent but were told no flights were available. At the airport, they were told the same.
"It was quite literally doomsday-type level scenery," Casey said. "We went to all the flight counters, just saying, ‘Hey can you get us anywhere at all, particularly in the U.S., but literally just anywhere?’ And they all said, ‘No, we’re all booked.'"
The local grocery was packed, Casey said, describing it as "an absolute frenzy" with lines reaching to the back.
A mandatory evacuation has not been ordered at the resort, but a conference room has been opened for guests to ride out the hurricane.
Holness said the country's security forces had plans to stop looting and other opportunistic crime once the hurricane has passed.
Fisherman Courtney Howell, of Kingston, told Reuters that Jamaicans were used to hurricanes.
"Well, this one is more dangerous than the one before. But this one, I mean, I’m not scared, because I’m used to them and I’ve been through many. So this one now coming is just another experience," he said.
By 11 p.m., the hurricane’s center was about 160 miles southeast of Grand Cayman, and the storm was moving west-northwest at 21 mph, the national hurricane center said.
“The Cayman Islands are sort of next in line for seeing significant impacts,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a video update Wednesday afternoon.
Storm surge there could raise water levels by as much as 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels, and rainfall totals could range from 4 to 6 inches, the hurricane center said.
The storm is projected to be a hurricane as it crosses the Yucatán Peninsula on Friday, the agency said, and it will then move into the Gulf of Mexico and threaten Mexico or southern Texas.
