An “extremely dangerous” storm is approaching the southeast Caribbean amid urgent pleas from government officials for people to take shelter.
Hurricane Beryl is expected to hit the Windward Islands on Monday morning.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami, which said Beryl was “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge”.
Beryl is expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday and then head into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on a path toward Jamaica.
It is expected to weaken by midweek, but still remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm.
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Reecia Marshall, who lives in Grenada, was working a Sunday shift at a local hotel, preparing guests and urging them to stay away from windows as she stored enough food and water for everyone.
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She said she was a child when Hurricane Ivan struck, and that she does not fear Beryl.
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“I know it’s part of nature. I’m OK with it,” she said. “We just have to live with it.”
