Hurricane Beryl makes landfall on Yucatan Peninsula, leaves ‘devastating’ damage in Caribbean
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People lining up outside a tortilla shop ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on July 4.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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GENEVA - Storm Beryl has made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane, the US National Hurricane Centre said in its latest advisory.
The hurricane was about 10km north-east of Tulum Mexico, packing maximum sustained winds of 175kmh, the centre said.
Hurricane Beryl caused devastating damage on several Caribbean islands, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on July 5.
Storms of a similar magnitude to the unusually fierce early-season hurricane are expected to become more common due to the effects of climate change, said Ms Rhea Pierre, the IFRC's disaster manager for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.
"The severity of damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl is tangible and devastating," said Ms Pierre, speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.
"Unfortunately, this new reality of unprecedented hurricanes is becoming the annual and ever present reality for the Caribbean countries that are facing the brunt of climate change," she said, adding that higher sea surface temperatures caused storms to "strengthen quickly into major hurricanes".
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said that humanitarian assessments were ongoing to get a better understanding of the extent of the damage caused by Beryl, which the World Meteorological Organisation said was setting the tone for a very dangerous hurricane season.
Ocha spokeswoman Vanessa Huguenin said partners in Grenada had reported extreme damage to the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, where 70 per cent and 97 per cent of buildings were damaged, respectively.
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, 90 per cent of homes on Union Island were affected, while nearly all buildings on the island of Canouan sustained damage, Ms Huguenin said.
Ms Pierre said: "We are only at the beginning of the hurricane season. We still have a staggering five months to go." REUTERS
