By Paola Chiomante and Jose de Jesus Cortes for Reuters
Tourists stand on a street as Mexican army soldiers arrive with a mobile kitchen team to help those affected by the passage of Hurricane Beryl in Tulum. Photo: ELIZABETH RUIZ
Tropical Storm Beryl has smashed into the Mexican coast near top beach destinations, whipping palm trees with strong winds and bringing heavy rain, after forging a deadly trail of destruction across the Caribbean.
The core of the storm, downgraded from a hurricane, shifted over the Yucatan Peninsula, with maximum sustained winds dipping to 113kph after it passed over the coastal resort town of Tulum.
While Beryl's passage over Mexico's Quintana Roo and Yucatan states resulted in slower winds, the US National Hurricane Centre forecast dangerous storm surges and destructive waves in the surrounding area.
"We're asking everyone to stay in your homes, in your shelters, do not leave," said Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama in a video message on social media platform X.
Among Mexico's top tourist destinations, the Yucatan Peninsula is known for its white-sand beaches, lush landscapes and Mayan ruins.
While "rapid weakening" is expected as it moves further inland and crosses the peninsula on Friday, according to the NHC, Beryl is expected to pick up intensity once the sprawling system enters the Gulf of Mexico.
Beryl was the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season. It became this week the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, with scientists pointing to its rapid strengthening as almost certainly fuelled by human-caused climate change.
Beryl is about 105km east-south-east of the port of Progreso and a short distance inland from Merida, the colonial-era capital of Yucatan state.
A petrol station damaged by strong wind gusts during Hurricane Beryl in Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. Photo: Elizabeth RUIZ / AFP
The slow-moving storm churned northwest at just 24kph by Friday midmorning.
Along the empty streets of Cancun's main hotel district, normally full of international tourists, heavy rain pounded the pavement.
Mexico's national water commission, CONAGUA, flagged a risk of flooding around the tourist hubs, as well as in neighbouring Campeche state.
Quintana Roo schools were closed, as were local beaches. Mexico's defence ministry had opened around 120 storm shelters ahead of Beryl's arrival.
Before reaching Mexico, Beryl wreaked havoc across several Caribbean islands. It swept through Jamaica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, in addition to unleashing heavy rainfall on northern Venezuela. It has claimed at least 11 lives, tearing apart buildings while felling power lines and trees.
The death toll may rise as more information becomes available.
The NHC predicts that Beryl will move toward northeastern Mexico and south Texas later in the weekend.
The storm forced the evacuation of around 3000 tourists from Isla Mujeres, a popular tourist island near Mexico's top beach resort of Cancun, according to the island's tourism director Jose Magana. Many residents had sought refuge in shelters in anticipation of the storm's arrival.
About 100 flights were cancelled at Cancun's main airport by Thursday, causing tourists to rush to catch the last outgoing flights.
Mexico's major oil platforms, primarily located in the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico, are not expected to be affected or shut down, but some oil projects in US waters to the north had been temporarily paused due to Beryl's expected path.
Research by the ClimaMeter consortium determined that climate change significantly intensified Beryl. According to the study, the storm's severity, along with its associated rainfall and wind speed, saw an increase of 10-30 percent as a direct result of climate change.
- Reuters