Jamaica hunkers down as deadly Hurricane Beryl nears

Jamaica has been scrambling to prepare as Category 4 Hurricane Beryl approaches the island.

People in the capital, Kingston, boarded up windows on Wednesday, fishermen pulled their boats from the water and roadside advertising boards were dismantled as the storm, which has killed at least six people and caused significant damage in the southeast Caribbean, approached.

A hurricane warning was also in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.

Beryl was forecast to weaken slightly over the next day or two but to remain at or near major hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica. It was then expected to brush the Cayman Islands on Thursday before heading towards Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center in the United States.

A hurricane watch was also in effect for Haiti’s southern coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City.

Beryl developed into a Category 5 hurricane as winds peaked at 165 mph (270 km/h) on Tuesday before weakening to a still destructive Category 4.

Early on Wednesday, the storm was about 185 miles (300km) east-southeast of Kingston. It had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 km/h).

As Beryl has barrelled through the Caribbean, rescue crews in southeastern islands fanned out to determine the extent of the damage the hurricane inflicted on Carriacou, an island in Grenada.

Three people were reported killed in Grenada and Carriacou and another in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said.

Two other deaths were reported in northern Venezuela, where five people are missing, officials said. About 25,000 people in the area also were affected by heavy rainfall from Beryl.