At Carriacou Island in Grenada, Hurricane Beryl has made landfall, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The hurricane, which has intensified over the last several hours, has prompted warnings about potentially fatal winds and strong storm surges.
"Carriacou was flattened in thirty minutes," said Dickon Mitchell, the prime minister of Grenada.
In addition, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago are under a hurricane warning.
Prior to the potentially catastrophic hurricane making landfall, businesses and airports in the Caribbean were closed and locals were advised to seek shelter.
As Beryl neared on Sunday night, dozens of flights were canceled around the area, and authorities encouraged people to heed warnings.
We haven't left the woods yet.
Monday at a press conference, Mr. Mitchell issued a warning, saying, "We are not yet out of the woods." Numerous power outages have also affected communications and the availability of official government information in Grenada.
The hurricane's maximum sustained winds, as it advances west, are estimated by the NHC to be close to 150 mph (241 km/h).
Jamaica is under a hurricane watch, meaning that by Wednesday, hurricane conditions are probably to occur there.
The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, told the public, "It is not a joke," bringing up the destruction inflicted by other storms in the Caribbean.
Speaking to the country from his official home, Mr. Gonsalves said that he was taking refuge in his basement.
"It's possible that gusts of 150 mph won't survive the roof, at least not the older portion of it. I'm getting ready to go downstairs," he said.
After previously weakening significantly, the storm was upgraded to a category four on Monday.
The NHC issued a warning that certain areas of the Windward islands should brace for "potentially catastrophic wind damage" but acknowledging that intensity variations were expected to persist.
Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were listed as having the greatest danger of destruction.
On Sunday, at 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT), hurricane shelters opened.
The North Atlantic may see up to seven major hurricanes this year, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an increase from the typical three every season.
It said that part of the problem was the record high sea surface temperatures.
Meteorologists have also noted Beryl's rapid development.
Within forty-two hours, the storm intensified from a tropical depression to a major hurricane (category three or higher), according to hurricane specialist Sam Lillo, who spoke with the Associated Press news agency.
The majority of the area has heeded the warnings.
Stores are closed, and customers have piled high with goods and petrol.
A state of emergency was declared in Grenada, and St. Lucia implemented a "national shutdown" that required businesses and educational institutions to shutter.
Are storms becoming worse due to climate change?
"We had to flee our studio in real life."
On the National Broadcasting Corporation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, journalists Colvin Harry and Dionne John were hosting a live radio broadcast as Hurricane Beryl made landfall.
The winds in the capital, Kingstown, were swiftly increasing as they addressed the storm's approach, updating the audience on the latest developments and advising them to stay home and follow the authorities' warnings.
They had to seek cover in a nearby house to weather the storm when the neighboring building's roof collapsed, almost one hour into the broadcast.
Colvin added, "We're going to have to take a break as we assess our own safety here," exuding his usual understated composure.
"We had to literally flee from our studio," he said in a WhatsApp message to the BBC after the show. "We're in a temporary building where we're secure, but from what we've heard, many roofs have disappeared. Schools, churches, and other buildings have all had their roofs destroyed.
"It's terrible, we've been severely hit," he said.
hurricane shattering records
Among the Caribbean countries in the hurricane's path is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which in a few hours strengthened into a Category 4 storm.
Actually, Hurricane Beryl broke a number of records in that manner.
Beryl is now regarded as the earliest Category 4 storm in history due to the speed at which it developed from a tropical depression into a Category 4 storm—a feat never seen this early in the hurricane season.
In fact, in the history of Atlantic hurricanes, only six previous storms have been as strong in less than 48 hours.
While the governments and people in the area have a great deal of experience planning for and responding to hurricanes, sudden storm intensities may still catch people off guard. For this reason, providing enough notice is essential to keeping people safe.
Human activity is increasing the frequency and strength of these storms by raising the temperature of the ocean. Storms like Beryl have the capacity to cause significant damage in the area by inundating the Caribbean islands with heavy rain, strong gusts, and prolonged winds.
Low-lying coastal areas are susceptible to flash floods and storm surges, while mountainous areas may see landslides, particularly when precipitation falls on already-wet terrain.
In this case, it seems that many of the inhabitants in the storm's path had enough time to at least collect the necessities despite the minimal notice. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, another island that is expected to see the worst of Beryl, long lineups of people could be seen at hardware and gas stations. Despite the fact that thousands of houses have been boarded up, there is still some optimism that lives may have been saved by emergency protocols and expertise.
Sometimes, however, no amount of warning is enough, especially when the storm is as strong as this one.
During an exceptionally severe hurricane season in 2017, Hurricane Irma devastated much of the Caribbean, and a few weeks later, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico.
It is very likely that several localities were caught off guard since the official Beryl advisories were issued later than they were for previous storms. The possibility of Beryl claiming lives is obvious, whether it is due to homes neglecting to secure potentially dangerous infrastructure or some towns not realizing the severity of the storm.
Currently, there is no connection available to a few of Grenada's smaller islands, including Carriacou and Petit Martinique. At this point, all that remains for the governments to do is wait out the storm before determining the full amount of the damage.
As of right now, Beryl poses an urgent threat to a number of countries that have already seen her affects as well as other islands that are currently waiting for her to pass.
However, none of this suggests a good outcome for the remaining Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Beryl has set the tone for what forecasters and climate scientists anticipate to be an exceptionally active and intense year.
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