Hurricane Beryl makes landfall on Caribbean Island

Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm on the Caribbean island of Carriacou in Grenada, as forecasters warned that the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season would bring "extremely dangerous" conditions.The National Hurricane Center said Beryl was bringing "tropical storm conditions, dangerous waves, and heavy rainfall" over the southern Windward Islands as it moved through the southeastern Caribbean Monday, and damage was reported in Grenada and Barbados.Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center of the storm, and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 125 miles out, the National Hurricane Center said.

#WATCH | Barbados: Electricity and water supply affected as hurricane hits the country with strong winds and rain.

Team India and media from India stuck in Barbados as all flights cancelled because of the curfew. pic.twitter.com/NswPxkaWig

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2024

Winds up to 150 mph (240 kph), just shy of a Category 5 storm, blew off roofs, uprooted trees and caused other damage on Carriacou, one of the islands of Grenada, and elsewhere in the southeast Caribbean. In Barbados, officials received more than a dozen reports of roof damage, fallen trees and downed electric posts across the island, said Kerry Hinds, emergency management director. Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information, said drones — which are faster than crews fanning across the island — would assess damage once Beryl passes.The storm was expected to weaken slightly over the Caribbean Sea on a path that would take it just south of Jamaica and later toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Meanwhile,  the victorious Indian cricket team remains stranded in Barbados after a Category 4 hurricane hit the Caribbean islands here in the wee hours of Monday, delaying its departure back home by at least another day.The Rohit Sharma-led side has stayed put in a five-star hotel since its triumph over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final on Saturday.As per the forecast, life-threatening winds and storm lashed Barbados and nearby islands on Monday. The country, with a population of close to three lakh, has been in a lockdown since Sunday evening.