Beryl Smashes Caribbean, More to Come

The Category 4 hurricane smashed several islands, including Grenada, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The storm’s winds reached 150 mph and flattened some buildings.

“In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened,” Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said, referring to the island that bore the brunt of Beryl’s winds. Mitchell did not release a death toll from the hurricane but noted that the island’s communication infrastructure had been damaged, which may slow reporting.

Powerful storms this early in summer are a rarity for the Atlantic. On Sunday, Beryl became the first Category 4 hurricane recorded in June. On Monday it surpassed Hurricane Dennis, which also hit Grenada in 2005 before affecting Jamaica, Haiti and the Southeastern United States.