Bridgetown (Barbados): Hurricane Beryl has strengthened to Category 5 status as it crosses islands in the southeastern Caribbean.
Beryl ripped off doors, windows and roofs in homes across the southeastern Caribbean on Monday after making landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada as the earliest Category 4 storm in the Atlantic, fuelled by its record warm waters.
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said late Monday that one person had died and authorities had not been able to assess the situation on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. There were initial reports of major damage but communications were largely down.
Late Monday, Beryl’s winds increased to 160 mph (260 kph). Fluctuations in strength were likely in the coming days.
Beryl was about 510 miles (825 kilometres) east-southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph (33 kph). It was forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday.
The Indian cricket team, including captain Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid, support staff, and their families, is stranded in Bridgetown, Barbados, due to Hurricane Beryl. They won the T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa but couldn’t leave as planned due to the airport shutdown caused by the hurricane.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has been overseeing relief efforts and expects the airport to reopen within six to twelve hours. The team is scheduled to depart for Delhi on a charter flight once the airport resumes operations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to facilitate their return. Despite the challenges, Mottley remains optimistic about recovery efforts and praised the team for their victory amid the storm.
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