Deadly Hurricane Beryl moves toward Jamaica as Category 4 storm

The storm on Wednesday morning continued its path through the Caribbean after making landfall in Grenada on Monday. So far, the hurricane has killed a total of seven people—three people in Grenada and Carriacou, one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and three in northern Venezuela. Hurricane Beryl strengthened to a Category 5 storm Monday night after it passed over the islands before weakening back to a Category 4. It is the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.

How is Jamaica preparing? Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Tuesday declared the island a disaster area for seven days and instituted a nationwide curfew from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Wednesday. Residents were advised to stay indoors during designated hours. The government will issue orders to prevent price gouging of essential goods during the disaster period.

Hurricane Beryl’s forecast path on Wednesday morning showed its center could pass just south of the island, according to the National Hurricane Center. Jamaica is still expected to receive winds up to 145 mph, four to eight inches of rain, and a storm surge that could raise water levels by six to nine feet. Only two hurricanes have made direct landfall in Jamaica in the last 40 years: Sandy in 2012 and Gilbert in 1988.

Where will the storm go next? On Wednesday, Beryl was forecast to pass near or over the Cayman Islands on Wednesday night before moving over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico early Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to bring heavy rain to the coast of Mexico and southern Texas as it continues moving West into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend.

Dig deeper: Listen to Kristen Flavin, Mary Muncy, and Paul Butler’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about this year’s storm season.