Hurricane Beryl unleashed destruction in Jamaica and is now headed for the Yucatán Peninsula, potentially threatening South Texas by Sunday.
Matthew Cappucci, Kim Bellware, Samantha Schmidt, and Anumita Kaur report for The Washington Post.
In short:
- Hurricane Beryl brought severe flooding, winds, and power outages to Jamaica, causing significant damage after wreaking destruction on Grenada, St. Vincent and other Caribbean islands. Several deaths were reported.
- The storm is expected to hit the Yucatán Peninsula with hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges by Friday.
- Beryl may re-strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico, posing a threat to South Texas, which could experience heavy rainfall and potentially hurricane conditions by early next week.
Key quote:
“Total devastation all around."
— Allison Caton, owner of Paradise Beach Club, which was destroyed in the hurricane, on the hard-hit Caribbean island of Carriacou.
Why this matters:
As the first hurricane of the season, Beryl's rapid intensification and path of destruction through several small Caribbean nations highlight the dangers of increasingly severe weather patterns, indicating a need for stronger preparedness measures in vulnerable regions. There are growing calls for major greenhouse-gas-emitting countries to step up and provide financial support for recovery. Read more: Robbie Parks on why hurricanes are getting deadlier.
