State of Emergency in place for Jamaica: Hurricane Beryl likely to make landfall

Jamaica: A “State of Emergency” has been declared in Jamaica for seven days due to the potential threat of Category 4 Hurricane Beryl which is moving towards the island nation with a wind speed of 160 mph.

The storm is expected to make landfall and create the situation of flash flooding with heavy wind and sea surges in the country on Wednesday. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness due to the reports of life threats from the Met department and declared that Jamaica would be a  “disaster area” for the next seven days.

In order to avoid the consequences of Hurricane Beryl, an islandwide curfew has been put in place which came into effect between 6: 00 am and 6: 00 pm Wednesday. An evacuation order is also in effect for flood-prone and low-lying areas of Jamaica and the authorities urged the citizens to cooperate with notices for precatuions and evacuation when they are issued.

An allocation of $5 million has also been announced by the prime minister for each of the 63 constituencies for emergency response against the Hurricane.

Hurricane Beryl has caused destruction in Grenada and its sister island, St Vincent and the Grenadines with the deaths of 4 people so far. A total of 90% of the infrastructure including homes, buildings, and other entities has been drastically damaged by the storm in these island nations.

Prime Minister of St Vincent- Ralph Gonsalves announced the number of deaths and added that there could be more fatalities as no proper report has been outlined yet.

The preparation against Hurricane Beryl has been ongoing in Jamaica with the measures have been taking place for the fisherfolks and others residing in the low-lying areas. As per the reports, the fisherfolk were observed pulling their vessels and fishing pots onto the seashore on Monday as it was seen that the vessels had been damaged by the storm in Grenada and St Vincent.

In addition to that, Banana and Plantain farmers are asked not to cut the leaves from their plants due to the oncoming hurricane. According to the reports, the crops are susceptible to damage as there could be the chances of the waterlogged and the plantation could be toppled by strong winds.

The authorities have also announced funds for the farmers to compensate for their loss against the damage that would be caused by the storm.

Notably, hurricane beryl is likely to make a harsh impact on Jamaica with a strong wind force of 150 mph. On Monday, the hurricane turned into Category 5 with the wind speed of 165 mph which was stood at south of the Puerto Rico.

The countries where Hurricane Warning was issued such as Saint Lucia and Barbados now gave the “All Clear” status to the countries.