Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc on Jamaica: One dead, hundreds homeless, properties damaged

Jamaica: The Category 4 Hurricane Beryl wreaked havoc on Jamaica on Wednesday while damaging several buildings, shattering roofs including the capital city’s main airport. Beryl headed toward Jamaica as a powerful Category 4 storm after battering smaller islands in the eastern Caribbean.

According to the information, tourists were stranded, power outages were widespread, and at least 500 people were moved to shelters as the storm lashed the island nation with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph or 220 kph, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

Through a Twitter post, Prime Minister Andrew Holness notified the citizens that “We had almost 500 Jamaicans in shelters. We are placing emphasis on ensuring they are comfortable and well looked after.”

People were witnessing worst scenes on the island nation which included dogs stranded on floating debris, looking confused and shocked while the strong winds teared down power lines and the heavy rainfall creating flood like conditions across the island.

Not only this but there are also reports of the death of one female in Green Island Hanover who died after a tree fell on her as she went outside. While Jamaica was being battered by heavy rainfall associated with the core of the hurricane, which continued to spread across the island for several hours, some citizens on East Queen Street in downtown Kingston defied the odds and took to the streets to party. They were seen dancing and partying like anything.

Not one, but there were several of them who were out despite heavy rains and winds associated with Category 4 Hurricane Beryl, and an island-wide curfew imposed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

[caption id="attachment_72785" align="aligncenter" width="1907"] People partying during heavy rainfall in Jamaica (PC - Loop)[/caption]

On the other hand, the Jamaica Public Service Company reported that over 400,000 citizens, or around 60 percent of its customers, were without power because of the hurricane.

Winsome Callum, the Director of Corporate Communications, said that remote restoration of the power supply is being done, and people will be supplied with power within a few hours.

Meanwhile, as Hurricane Beryl began to move away from Jamaica, the hurricane warning was discontinued for the island. Continuing periods of heavy rainfall could, however, result in flash flooding over low-lying and flood-prone areas of the island; therefore, a Flash Flood Watch is now in effect until 5:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Also, the disaster management system in Jamaica is at work including tracking activities across the island, providing support for shelter and evacuation, and maintaining communication so information can be shared and aid rendered where necessary.

In another report, scientists are claiming that human caused climate change is behind the unusually early storm’s strengthening which battered the Caribbean.