Als außergewöhnlich früher und extrem gefährlicher Hurrikan der höchsten Kategorie 5 zieht „Beryl“ durch die Karibik. Mit anhaltenden Windgeschwindigkeiten von bis zu 270 Kilometern pro Stunde ist er nach Angaben des US-Hurrikanzentrums NHC in Richtung Jamaika unterwegs. Auf den Windward-Inseln im Südosten der Karibik hinterlässt er eine Spur der Verwüstung, die erst allmählich offenbar wird.
Grenada hat bisher zwei Todesfälle gemeldet. St. Vincent und die Grenadinen beklagen ein Todesopfer – auf der Insel Union seien 90 Prozent der Häuser beschädigt oder zerstört, teilt Ministerpräsident Ralph Gonsalves mit. Stromausfälle und blockierte Straßen erschweren die Kommunikation mit den besonders betroffenen Inseln.
„Beryl“ ist der erste Hurrikan der Anfang Juni begonnenen Saison im Atlantik. So früh in der Saison, die ein halbes Jahr dauert, wurde noch nie ein so starker Sturm registriert. Außergewöhnlich warmes Meereswasser macht solche Wirbelstürme immer wahrscheinlicher.
Storm chaser Brandon Clement filmed how the so-called eye wall of “Beryl” made landfall on the island of Carriacou in the small Caribbean state of Grenada on Monday as a slightly weaker Category 4 hurricane. Roofs are torn off houses as if they were made of cardboard. Palms snap like matchsticks, pieces of debris fly through the air. The noise of wind and rain is deafening.
“Within half an hour, Carriacou was razed to the ground,” Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said live. The houses on the island are almost completely destroyed.
Zugbahn von Kategorie-5-Hurrikan Berly. Durchschnittliche Windgeschwindigkeit in Kilometer pro Stunde.
Beryl upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 24 hours on Sunday and has strengthened further since passing Grenada. Previously, Hurricane Dennis became the earliest hurricane to become a Category 4 hurricane on July 8, 2005, as expert Michael Lowry writes on Platform X.
“Beryl” is the strongest hurricane recorded over the Atlantic Ocean in July, writes Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who specializes in hurricanes.
One reason is the extremely warm seawater. “Current heat content in the Caribbean corresponds to a typical mid-September,” emphasizes Klotzbach. The most active phase of the hurricane season is usually from mid-August to mid-October.
Expect a serious hurricane season
Climate change is increasing the likelihood of severe storms like Beryl. Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Caribbean are strengthening at an accelerated rate as surface temperatures rise, according to a study published in Scientific Reports in October.
With warm water and the expected start of the “La Niña” phase of cooler Pacific waters, the US weather agency NOAA has warned that the Atlantic is likely to experience a particularly strong hurricane season this year.
Beryl is moving rapidly west-northwest and is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday, according to the NHC. It is expected to lose some strength by then, but is still on the verge of becoming a major hurricane. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness called on the population to stock up on drinking water and canned goods ahead of Beryl's expected passage.