Airports were closed and businesses were shuttered across the Caribbean today, July 1, as residents were urged to seek shelter ahead of feared Hurricane Beryl, which authorities say will make landfall in Barbados in “a matter of hours.”
Dozens of flights have been cancelled across the region, the BBC reports, noting that a weather alert is in force for Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“This is no joke,” said St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, recalling the devastation caused by past hurricanes in the Caribbean. In a speech to the nation delivered from his official residence, Gonsalves said he would seek refuge in his basement. “The roof, certainly the old part of the roof, may not survive 150 mph winds. I’m getting ready to come down,” he added.
Last night the hurricane was classified as a category 4, but its winds subsequently decreased slightly (to a maximum of 195 km per hour) and it was downgraded to category 3 again.
Video The eye of Cyclone Beryl over the southeastern Caribbean
The U.S. National Hurricane Center believes fluctuations in strength are likely to continue, but warned that parts of the Windward Islands should prepare for “potentially catastrophic wind damage.”
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
