Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Monday, is currently tearing through the Caribbean, killing at least four people, destroying homes and snapping trees in half.
The hurricane first hit Carriacou, a small island north of Grenada, on Monday morning, flattening the island in just half an hour and causing extensive damage to the neighboring island of Petite Martinique. Rescue workers left Grenada on Tuesday morning to deliver supplies to the two islands and assess the damage.
Carriacou is famous for its coral reefs and diving spots, while the people of Petite Martinique are mainly engaged in fishing and boat building. The two islands have a combined population of about 6,000, according to government data.
Beryl increased to Category 5 Monday night and headed west toward Jamaica.
The storm was an anomaly in an already busy storm season, which lasts until the end of November. When it developed into a Category 4 storm on Sunday, it was the third major hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic in June and the first Category 4 hurricane so early in the season.
Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who specializes in tropical cyclones, said the storm continues to set records, becoming the first-ever Atlantic storm to reach Category 5 intensity early in the season.
The storm’s rapid intensification is a direct result of warmer than average sea surface temperatures and is a harbinger of what’s to come this hurricane season. A hurricane that intensifies faster can be more dangerous because it gives people in areas expected to be affected less time to prepare and evacuate.
