Hurricane Beryl kills at least seven as it churns towards Jamaica

Hurricane Beryl has churned towards Jamaica, with forecasters warning of potentially deadly winds and storm surge, after the storm killed at least seven people and caused widespread destruction across the southeastern Caribbean.

The powerful hurricane, which is rare so early in the Atlantic season, weakened Tuesday but was still an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, and is expected to pass "near or over" Jamaica on Wednesday, meteorologists said.

Beryl is the first storm since US National Hurricane Centre records began to reach the Category 4 level in June, and the earliest to reach Category 5 in July.

A hurricane warning was in place for the island nation, according to the NHC, which said rain and flash flooding were to be expected in addition to the life-threatening wind and high water levels.

Across Jamaica, emergency response preparations were underway, with shelters stocking up on provisions, people safeguarding their homes and boats being pulled from the water.

"I urge all Jamaicans to stock up on food, batteries, candles, and water. Secure your critical documents and remove any trees or items that could endanger your property," Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on X.

Hurricane warnings were also issued in the Cayman Islands, which Beryl is "expected to pass near or over" on Wednesday night or early Thursday, according to the NHC.

In the Dominican Republic, massive waves were seen crashing into the shore along Santo Domingo as the storm passed to the country's south, photographers reported.

'No communication'

Beryl has already left a trail of death in its wake with at least three people killed in Grenada, where Beryl made landfall Monday, as well as one in St Vincent and the Grenadines and three in Venezuela, officials said.

Grenada's Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said the island of Carriacou, which was struck by the eye of the storm, has been all but cut off, with houses, telecommunications and fuel facilities there flattened.

"We've had virtually no communication with Carriacou in the last 12 hours except briefly this morning by satellite phone," Mitchell told a news conference.

The 13.5-square mile (35-square kilometre) island is home to around 9,000 people. At least two people there died, Mitchell said, with a third killed on the country's main island of Grenada when a tree fell on a house.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, one person on the island of Bequia was reported dead from the storm, and a man died in Venezuela's northeastern coastal state of Sucre when he was swept away by a flooded river, officials there said.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern about the region, saying on X that his organization "stands ready to support the national authorities with any health needs."