Jamaica issues hurricane watch as Beryl hits eastern Caribbean

Hurricane-force winds of up to 160 mph and flash floods causing up to 12 inches of rain are affecting the eastern Caribbean.

Hurricane Beryl was upgraded to a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane amid a string of Foreign Office travel alerts across the region.

The US National Hurricane Center warned that Beryl was expected to bring “life-threatening” winds and storm surge to Jamaica later this week.

“Beryl is forecast to continue moving rapidly west-northwestward during the next couple of days,” the latest update said.

“On the forecast track, the centre of Beryl will move quickly across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea tonight through Tuesday and is forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday.”

Maximum winds have increased to near 160 mph, with higher gusts.

Dozens of flights were cancelled across the region as Beryl approached on Sunday night and residents across the Caribbean were urged to seek shelter.

The Foreign Office updated travel alerts and said: “A major hurricane made landfall in the southern Grenadines on the afternoon of Monday 1 July, significantly impacting services.”

Hurricane Beryl advisories were issued for Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Grenada’s national disaster co-ordinator Terence Walters reportedly said he had already received “reports of devastation” from Carriacou and the surrounding islands.

The Jamaican government issued a hurricane watch, warning that Beryl was posing a threat to the country with potential impact expected on Wednesday local time.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said in an update yesterday (Monday): “As a result of the adverse weather conditions caused by Hurricane Beryl, we’re working closely with our local teams in the Caribbean to understand any impact to local airports’ infrastructure and minimise disruption to our services.

“We are contacting affected customers regarding their travel arrangements, including the option to rebook if they no longer wish to travel.

“We’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding and recommend that all customers due to travel to or from the Caribbean over the next 48 hours check the status of their flight on virginatlantic.com before going to the airport.

“The safety and comfort of our customers and people is always our top priority.”