Hurricane Beryl brought heavy rains and strong winds to the Cayman Islands early Thursday as the powerful storm moved away from Jamaica.
As the eye of the storm brushed the Jamaican coast, the hurricane knocked out power and tore off roofs from some homes. It also downed trees and utility poles.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl was on a path to make landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula by early Friday.
Forecasters said they expect the storm to weaken some before it reaches at the Mexican coast, but still be at hurricane strength.
Hurricane warnings were posted from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun ahead of the storm’s arrival.
The NHC said Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 205 kph early Thursday.
Forecasters warned that storm surge could bring water levels 1.2-1.8 meters above ground level in the Yucatan along with 10-15 centimeters of rain.
After emerging back into the Gulf of Mexico, the storm could make another landfall in northeastern Mexico or in the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas by late Sunday.
Hurricane Beryl brought earlier destruction to Grenada and Carriacou, where three people were reported killed. Another person was killed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as the storm hit there, while three people were killed in northern Venezuela.
Beryl grew from a tropical storm to a major hurricane in 42 hours, which has only happened six times in the recorded history of Atlantic hurricanes. The hurricane is also the earliest to reach Category 4 status in the Atlantic hurricane season that runs from June 1 to November 30. It was also the earliest to reach Category 5 strength.
Beryl is the second named storm in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Alberto hit northeastern Mexico in June, killing four people.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned of an above average hurricane season.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.