Hurricane Beryl: At least one person killed as tropical storm hits Caribbean islands including Barbados and Grenada

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At least one person has died as Hurricane Beryl hits the Caribbean islands.

Hurricane Beryl strengthened to Category 5 status late on Monday (1 July) after it ripped doors, windows and roofs off homes across the southeastern Caribbean with devastating winds and storm surge fuelled by the Atlantic’s record warmth. Beryl made landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada as the earliest Category 4 storm in the Atlantic, then late in the day the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said its winds had increased to Category 5 strength

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said one person had died and he could not yet say if there were other fatalities because authorities had not been able to assess the situation on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, where there were initial reports of major damage but communications were largely down. He said: “We do hope there aren’t any other fatalities or any injuries. But bear in mind the challenge we have in Carriacou and Petite Martinique.”

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At least one person has died as hurricane Beryl hits the Caribbean islands. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)At least one person has died as hurricane Beryl hits the Caribbean islands. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
At least one person has died as hurricane Beryl hits the Caribbean islands. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

Mr Mitchell added that the government will send people first thing on Tuesday morning to evaluate the situation on the islands. Streets from St Lucia island south to Grenada were strewn with shoes, trees, downed power lines and other debris.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, and a tropical storm warning for the southern coast of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who was among the thousands who travelled to Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, said he and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans after their flights cancelled on Sunday. He said by phone that it is the first time he has experienced a hurricane — he and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

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