Hurricane Beryl storm chaser shares video of Caribbean island 'flattened' as winds rip into tiny town

A Hurricane Beryl storm chaser shared a video on X displaying the extent of the devastation caused to large portions of the Carriaco Island in Grenada.

The disheartening clip shows a dozens of destroyed houses merged with the grass and dirt. When describing Carriaco after Beryl's descent, The Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said the storm had "flattened" the tiny town. His words were accurate as the 13-square mile island, housing about 9,600 people, was subject to Beryl's devastating 150 mile per hour winds.

Three people were reported dead after the storm had left the island. A handful of houses appear to be salvageable, but the vast majority are either heavily damaged or completely leveled.

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"The situation is grim," Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told a news conference Tuesday. "There is no power, and there is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island. The roads are not passable, and in many instances they are cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets."

Mitchell added: "The possibility that there may be more fatalities remains a grim reality as movement is still highly restricted." The archipelago will be rebuilt, according to a statement made early on Tuesday by St. Vincent and the Grenadines' prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves.

Pastor Winston Alleyne clears trees felled by Hurricane Beryl in Ottley Hall
(Image: AP)

He said that "similar levels of devastation" were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan, and that 90% of Union Island's dwellings had been severely damaged or destroyed. "Hurricane Beryl has left in its wake immense destruction," Gonsalves said.

Winds as high as 150 mph, or just short of a Category 5, shattered tree limbs, fell power lines, and other debris across the streets from St. Lucia island south to Grenada. The storm destroyed cows that appeared to be resting in the verdant fields, snapping banana trees in half. Nearby, tin and plywood houses leaned alarmingly.

"Right now, I'm really heartbroken," Vichelle Clark King said as she assessed her destroyed shop in Bridgetown, Barbados, which had been filled with sand and water.

When Beryl passes over or near Jamaica early on Wednesday and over or near the Cayman Islands late on Wednesday or early Thursday, it is expected to have weakened from its Tuesday intensity but still be close to major hurricane strength. The U.S. National Hurricane Center states that as it gets closer to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday night, it is still likely to be a hurricane.

A wheelchair is lodged in the debris of a home demolished by Hurricane Beryl at Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)
(Image: AP)

According to the NHC, Beryl was predicted to deliver potentially fatal winds and a storm surge to Jamaica, where officials had issued evacuation orders to those living in areas vulnerable to flooding.At a late-night speech to the public on Monday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated, "I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat." "It is, however, not a time to panic."

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