Beryl moved into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday and targeted the southern Texas coast after hitting Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Texas officials issued disaster declarations and urged coastal residents to prepare as the storm headed.
Beryl hit Tulum as a Category 2 hurricane and downed trees but caused no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. The US National Hurricane Center expects the storm to regain hurricane strength warm waters of the Gulf and hit south Texas late Sunday or early Monday.
Beryl, the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, it caused at least 11 deaths as it passed the Caribbean islands earlier in the week.
The center of the storm Friday afternoon was in the Gulf just off Mexico, about 615 miles (995 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. It was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (about 20 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h), the hurricane center said.
Once in the Gulf, Beryl could pick up winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) before hitting Texas, though it’s hard to say now where it could make landfall, forecasters said. Hurricane watches were in effect from north of the Rio Grande, covering most of the Texas coast.
Some Texas counties have already issued voluntary evacuation orders for low-lying areas, and Texas officials urged coastal residents to prepare.
Along the Texas coast in Corpus Christi, city officials announced they distributed 10,000 sandbags in less than two hours Friday, depleting its supply.
“This is a determined storm that is still strong,” Texas Lt. Dan Patrick said at a news conference.
Patrick issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 40 counties that allows state and local governments to begin planning and contracting for response.
Nim Kidd, head of emergency operations, said oil companies have begun moving employees from rigs along the coast that may be in the storm’s path.
Northeastern Mexico and southern Texas were already soaked Tropical Storm Alberto just a few weeks ago.
Beryl smear disaster in jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados this week. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.
The head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, Laura Velázquez, said Beryl had caused no deaths or injuries there and that “damage was minor,” although tens of thousands of people remained without power.
Tulum was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it made landfall. Gusty winds set off car alarms across the city. Wind and rain continued to lash the coastal city and surrounding areas on Friday morning. Army brigades roam the streets of the tourist town, clearing fallen trees and power lines.
After seeing Beryl tear through the Caribbean, 37-year-old Lucía Nagera Balcaza was among those who packed food and hid in their homes.
“Thank God we woke up this morning and everything was fine,” he said. “The streets are a disaster, but we’re out here to clean up.”
Before the storm hit Mexico, officials had set up shelters in schools and hotels. As the wind began to blow over Tulum’s beaches on Thursday, officials on four-wheelers with loudspeakers rolled along the sand telling people to leave and authorities evacuated beach hotels. Sea turtle eggs they even moved from storm-threatened beaches.
Tourists also took precautions. Lara Marsters, 54, a therapist visiting Tulum from Boise, Idaho, said she had filled empty water bottles from the tap.
“We will withdraw and remain safe,” he said.
While many in the Yucatan Peninsula took a deep breath, Jamaica and other islands devastated by the hurricane were still reeling. As of Friday morning, 55 percent of Jamaica was still without power and most of the country was without running water, according to government figures.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness promised swift relief for residents affected by Hurricane Beryl after visiting one of the island’s worst-hit areas, the southern parish of St. Elizabeth, on Thursday afternoon.
“I know some of you are facing discomfort and displacement and I want to assure you that the government will move as quickly as we can to get you the help you need,” he said.
Earlier in the week, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 95 percent of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, tangled fishing boats in Barbados, and tore off roofs and knocked out power in Jamaica.
On Union Island, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a man who identified himself as Captain Baga described the storm’s impact, including how he had filled two 2,000-gallon (7,570-liter) rubber water tanks in preparation.
“I tied them securely on six sides; and I watched the wind pick up those tanks and take them away – full of water,” he said Thursday. “I’m a sailor and I never thought the wind could do what I saw it. If anyone (had) ever told me the wind could do that, I’d tell them they’re lying!”
The island was littered with debris from houses that looked as if they had exploded.
