Hurricane Beryl, which ripped through the Caribbean as a Category 4 to 5 storm over the past couple of days, is on a path headed for Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the National Hurricane Center said.
Beryl, which has weakened to a Category 3 storm, left at least 10 people dead after hitting St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela, Grenada and Jamaica, according to Reuters. The wire service noted that the death toll is expected to rise as communications throughout the island nation are restored.
More:Hurricane Beryl delivers strong winds, heavy rain to Cayman Islands: Live updates
Mass destruction was reported across many Caribbean islands. At least three Windward Islands reported more than 90% of the homes and buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency reported Wednesday.
With the hurricane’s new path forecasted to approach Texas, at least one county issued a voluntary evacuation notice. Cameron County, Texas residents in RVs and trailers or camping at county parks are advised to evacuate or take precautionary measures to prevent damage and injury from high winds.
The storm became the earliest recorded Category 5 hurricane ever surpassing the previous record by more than two weeks. The record was previously held by Hurricane Emily which arrived on July 17, 2005.
Hurricane Beryl path tracker
This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Hurricane Beryl spaghetti models
Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
Atlantic storm tracker
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, Gabe Hauari, Susan Miller, John Bacon, Jorge L. Ortiz, Dinah Voyles Pulver & Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY-Network Florida