Der gefährliche Hurrikan „Beryl“ hat auf Jamaika mindestens einen Menschen das Leben gekostet. Im Nordwesten der Karibikinsel sei eine Frau gestorben, nachdem ein Baum auf ihr Haus gestürzt sei, sagte eine Sprecherin des Katastrophenschutzes dem US-Sender CNN.
In der Hauptstadt Kingston suchten Rettungsteams zudem nach einem 20-Jährigen, der in einen Gully gestürzt und von den Wassermassen fortgerissen worden sei, berichtete die Zeitung „The Gleaner“ am Mittwoch (Ortszeit). Insgesamt seien durch den Wirbelsturm in der Karibik bislang acht Menschen ums Leben gekommen, hieß es in örtlichen Medien. Zuvor waren jeweils drei Tote in Grenada und Venezuela sowie einer in St. Vincent und den Grenadinen gemeldet worden.
Böen von bis zu 215 km/h
Nach seinem zerstörerischen Pfad über mehrere kleinere Karibikinseln hatte „Beryl“ als Hurrikan der zweitstärksten Stufe 4 mit anhaltenden Windgeschwindigkeiten von bis zu 215 Kilometern pro Stunde am Mittwoch Jamaika erreicht. Das Sturmzentrum streifte die Südküste des Landes mit rund drei Millionen Einwohnern, wie das US-Hurrikanzentrum NHC mitteilte.
In der Nacht zu Donnerstag zog „Beryl“ dann weiter über das Meer und schwächte sich auf Kategorie 3 ab. Für Jamaika wurde die Hurrikan-Warnung daraufhin aufgehoben. Es herrsche aber weiter die Gefahr von heftigen Regenfällen und Sturzfluten, mahnte der Wetterdienst.
In Jamaica, some roads were impassable due to fallen trees or flooding, disaster management agency ODPEM said. In addition, according to local media, around 400,000 households are without electricity. Initially, there were no reports of major damages. Images on social media showed downed electricity poles and covered roofs.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that nearly 500 people have been accommodated in emergency accommodation. Earlier, he had announced a nationwide curfew till 6 p.m.
Not everyone followed – the Jamaica Observer newspaper reported that some residents of the capital, Kingston, danced in the pouring rain. After the hurricane passed, Holness announced the deployment of police and military forces to help deal with the aftermath of the storm and maintain order.
Armageddon-like destruction
Beryl, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season that began in early June, evolved from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 24 hours last weekend.
The center of the storm made landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada on Monday. According to the government, 98 percent of buildings there and on the nearby island of Petite Martinique were damaged or destroyed. Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell spoke of an Armageddon-like destruction.
Union Island, which belongs to the state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was hit just as hard.
A storm this strong has never been recorded so early in the six-month Atlantic hurricane season. According to Colorado State University expert Philip Klotzbach, Beryl is the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record for July. Meanwhile, the NHC measured the wind speed at about 270 kilometers per hour, from 252 it reaches category 5. Due to climate change, warmer ocean waters make strong hurricanes more likely.
“Beryl” as a result of the climate crisis
Mitchell called the hurricane a direct result of the climate crisis. He stressed that Grenada no longer wanted to accept that SIDS had to bear the consequences of the climate and take on debt for reconstruction, while the main responsible countries did nothing. The European Union promised a total of 450,000 euros in humanitarian aid to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Beryl” continues to move in a west-northwest direction. The NHC forecasts the storm center will pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight and re-enter Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on Friday night.
Beryl is expected to weaken somewhat in the coming days, but will remain a hurricane. Yucatán resorts take precautions: Authorities have brought more than 10,000 turtle eggs to safety from nests on Playa Delfines beach in Cancún.