Hurricane Beryl has been barreling through the Atlantic for over a week, fueled by exceptionally warm waters to become the earliest Category 5 hurricane.
It decimated Caribbean islands like Barbados and Jamaica, with a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines almost entirely destroyed. It slammed into Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula on Friday and struck Texas by Monday, each time regaining its strength over water.
Texas
In Texas, where Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, the storm unleashed heavy wind and rain, toppling trees and power lines.
Boarded-up windows lined suburbs. Cars were stranded on flooded highways. Residents stayed put inside homes and hotels with no power.
After the worst of the storm passed, many residents worked to clear roads from tree branches and other debris.
Mexico
Before it reached Texas, Beryl caused havoc in Tulum, Mexico, where tens of thousands were without power as it swept through the region as a Category 2 hurricane.
Wind and rain whipped the seaside city through Friday. Residents sheltered in schools and hotels, and officials patrolled beaches to evacuate residents and tourists alike.
Those displaced were able to find some respite — and food — at shelters, with the army organizing soup kitchens. Others risked traveling through heavily flooded streets.
Caribbean
But Beryl’s heaviest destruction was in the Caribbean, where entire towns — and even whole islands — were left decimated. The Category 5 storm ripped roofs off of homes and destroyed and tangled up boats on shorelines. Waves full of debris crashed onto the sand.
In Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, an arena was converted into a shelter with row upon row of thin beds and blankets.
The destruction Beryl left behind will need months, and in some cases years, of rebuilding and recovery.
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