Hurricane Beryl Advances Over Yucatan in Mexico
Although it is now a Cat-1 hurricane, Beryl is prompting torrential rains in Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo.
In the early hours of Friday, Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane north of the municipality of Tulum, Quintana Roo, in the Mexican Caribbean.
RELATED:
Hurricane Beryl Crossed Jamaica Leaving One Person Dead
“Beryl is now a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It is located over land in Yucatan, and its cloud bands maintain the likelihood of intense to torrential rains, strong winds, storm surge, and high waves in the Yucatan Peninsula,” the National Meteorological Service (SMN) said in its latest report.
Mexican scientists specified that the hurricane was located 95 km northwest of Dzilam (Quintana Roo), and 160 km east-southeast of Progreso (Yucatan). Beryl is advancing with maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h and gusts of 185 km/h, moving west-northwest at 26 km/h.
These conditions are causing torrential rains (150 to 250 millimeters) in Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo. They also prompt intense rains (75 to 150 mm) in Chiapas and Tabasco.
Yucatan Governor Mauricio Vila confirmed that 106 municipalities in his state were declared on “Red Alert” due to Beryl and recommended that residents take precautions.
The red alert is also in effect in 9 out of 11 municipalities in the state of Quintana Roo, namely, Cozumel, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Isla Mujeres, Benito Juarez, Jose Maria Morelos, Lazaro Cardenas, Solidaridad, Tulum, and Puerto Morelos.
So far, no injuries or fatalities have been reported in Mexico, said Civil Protection Coordinator Laura Velazquez, adding that her institution is monitoring extreme danger situations in Quintana Roo. The Federal Electricity Commission reported impacts on energy supply in Tulum, Cozumel, and Isla Mujeres.
Beryl is expected to cross the central portion of the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday. By nightfall, it will become a tropical storm and will be located in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Campeche and Yucatan.
So far, Mexican authorities have set up 58 temporary shelters housing 2,193 people. They also deployed 25,611 soldiers to assist in rescue efforts. The airports in Tulum, Cozumel, and Cancun have not suffered any damage.
On Tuesday, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned said that Beryl, which became a Category 5 hurricane, set an “alarming precedent” because a maximum-intensity cyclone had never before formed at this time of year in the Atlantic Ocean.
