Hurricane Beryl moves toward Jamaica after hitting Grenada | World News

Hurricane Beryl’s winds have eased somewhat as it heads toward Jamaica, where storm surge, strong winds and torrential rains could cause more than $1 billion in damage.

Beryl’s peak winds dropped from 165 miles per hour to 155 miles per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tuesday, as the storm passed south of the Dominican Republic. Beryl reverted to a Category 4 hurricane after becoming the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic late Monday.

The hurricane, which has already devastated several islands in the eastern Caribbean, is expected to weaken somewhat before reaching Jamaica, but it will likely still be a major storm with winds in excess of 110 mph (178 km/h).

“This is an event that will cost Jamaica at least a billion dollars,” said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki Research. If Beryl’s trajectory shifts, the damage could be even greater. Prime Minister Andrew Holness has urged residents to prepare and stock up on supplies and food.

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Beryl reached Carriacou, Grenada’s second-largest island, on Monday. Authorities reported extensive damage and three deaths, but Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said the port and international airport could resume operations on Tuesday. Power has been partially restored.

“To some extent, we dodged a bazooka,” Mitchell said. “We’re lucky.”

US President Joe Biden said he was monitoring the storm’s progress.

“We are praying for the people, islands and communities affected and stand ready to provide assistance,” Biden said in a speech at the Emergency Operations Center in Washington. “Look, extreme weather events underscore a point I’ve been saying for so long: ignoring climate change is deadly, dangerous and irresponsible.”

While the humanitarian losses are still being determined, there are signs that Beryl is having an impact on the markets.

Shares in European insurers fell as the storm raised concerns that an unusually active storm season could drive up claims. Munich Re and Swiss Re, the two biggest reinsurers, lost 3.3 percent and 4 percent respectively in trading on Tuesday.

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In addition, there is a growing risk that the significantly weaker Beryl will enter the northern Gulf of Mexico next week. The storm has a 30 to 40 percent chance of reaching the upper Gulf as a tropical storm or weak hurricane, but would likely not cause damage, said Matt Rogers, president of Commodity Weather Group LLC.

“I think the storm could stay further south toward Mexico, as was the case with Alberto and Chris, especially if it weakens in the coming days as forecast. However, the likelihood of it moving into the upper Gulf has increased,” Rogers said.

Over the past two weeks, tropical storms Alberto and Chris developed off the east coast of Mexico and quickly reached land without causing major damage.

Fluctuations in strength are likely, but Beryl is expected to maintain the intensity of a major hurricane as it moves into the central Caribbean, passing near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday, the weather agency said. The other Category 5 system to form in the Atlantic basin in July was Emily in 2005.

“Unfortunately, Beryl is breaking records set in 1933 and 2005 – two of the strongest Atlantic hurricane seasons ever recorded,” said Phil Klotzbach, a senior scientist at Colorado State University. It likely indicates a hyperactive season, he added.

The hurricane-force winds will reach up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) outward from the center, and a storm surge could raise water levels in areas along the Jamaican coast by as much as 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) above normal tide levels, the hurricane center said.

A Category 5 storm can cause complete roof and wall collapses and power outages that can last for weeks or even months, according to the hurricane center. Typically, the first hurricane reaches the Atlantic by August 11, and the first major storm – Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale – arrives by September 1, according to the center.