Roofs missing, streets flooded in Jamaica as Category 3 Hurricane Beryl moves in

Cleanup began in Jamaica Thursday morning as the last remnants of powerful Hurricane Beryl moved away overnight, leaving homes unroofed, buildings flooded, roads blocked and widespread power outages.

Beryl, which eventually weakened to a Category 3 hurricane overnight, was nearly finished battering the Cayman Islands by Thursday morning as it headed toward its next landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday — likely as a Category 1 hurricane.

Its imminent departure from the Caribbean is welcome news for the many islands battered by the historic hurricane. At least seven people have died in the eastern Caribbean, where Beryl made landfall Monday and flattened some small islands with “98 percent destruction.”

Even Beryl's most distant bands were enough to cause power outages and road closures in the Dominican Republic, but Jamaica's southern coast was hardest hit, as it was grazed by the then-Category 4 hurricane's northern eyewall.

Jamaicans woke up Thursday to downed power lines in Portmore, trees blocking the highway in Manchester and southern St. Elizabeth; knee-deep floodwaters, wet furniture and torn-off roofs.

Hurricane Beryl left a trail of destruction across southern parishes, where Machester and St. Elizabeth bore the brunt of Beryl's powerful winds and rain before the hurricane warning was lifted shortly before midnight and a flash flood watch was put into effect.

Part of the roof of Norman Manley International Airport near Kingston was torn off, along with roofs of nearby homes and buildings. About 400,000 customers were without power overnight Wednesday, the Jamaica Public Service Company told the Jamaica Gleaner.

Next stop: Mexico

According to the 8 a.m. update, Beryl was blowing with sustained winds of 120 mph and moving toward the west-northwest at 20 mph. It was located about 385 miles east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico.

The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center directs Beryl toward the Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to strengthen slightly before making landfall again as a Category 1 hurricane near the Mexico-Texas border.

“Although the hurricane has been a large hurricane so far, this magnitude of shear is expected to cause significant weakening over the next few days, but Beryl is still expected to be a hurricane near the Yucatan tomorrow,” forecasters said during the 5 a.m. discussion.