A powerful Category 5 storm is barreling toward Jamaica

Protect Yourself Against An Extremely Dangerous Hurricane: Planned Emergency Evacuation in the Grenadine Islands and Carriacou Island

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Take action now to protect your life!” the center said ahead of Monday’s landfall. “Residents in the Grenadine Islands and Carriacou Island should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the eyewall of Beryl.”

Brennan said forecasters believe Beryl may have reached its peak intensity, with data showing its central pressure had risen and peak winds had dipped slightly. He thought that it would be a powerful and destructive storm as it crosses the Caribbean.

“There is a very high risk of injury or death to people, livestock, and pets due to flying and falling debris,” according to the NHC. Most of the older manufactured homes will be destroyed. A high percentage of newer manufactured homes also will be destroyed,” and poorly built homes could see all of their walls collapse.

Jamaicans are prepared to take the storm seriously: The case for hurricane-force winds of the highest strength in the Atlantic, with special emphasis on the case of Beryl

The Director of the Barbados Meteorological Services urged residents to stay indoors until an All Clear has been issued after wind gusts were up to 70 mph. Rainfall, he added, had not been as bad as expected.

The NHC said the storm is currently moving through the Windward Islands and will cross the central and southeastern Caribbean Sea on Monday.

On its current forecast path, the earliest tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit Central America Wednesday night. Mexico’s coastal states of Quintana Roos and Yucatan will likely feel those winds on Thursday.

Climate change is making powerful storms more common. Climate change is helping to drive the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic this year, with officials expecting as many as 17 to 25 named storms.

The storm was upgraded to a Category 5 on Monday night and made it the earliest Atlantic Hurricane of that strength.

“I’m encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a video message Monday. “It is however not a time for panic. The time is opportune for us to be careful and calculated in our approach. We have 48 hours in which to prepare.”

All of Jamaica remained under a hurricane warning on Tuesday, meaning that meteorologists expect hurricane conditions to occur in the area and “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the National Hurricane Center said.

On Tuesday morning after Beryl had passed, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said the nation was “coming to grips with the reality of the devastation” caused by the storm, particularly in the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. He said at least two deaths had been tentatively reported.

“The situation is grim,” Mitchell said after speaking with a local official on the islands. “There is no power. There is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island. The roads are not safe, and many of them are cut off because of the large amount of debris on the streets.