PARAMARIBO – “Suriname will provide aid to the Caricom member states that were hit by Hurricane Beryl,” said President Chandrikapersad Santokhi at a recent meeting of the state council.

Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Collaboration Minister Albert Ramdin and the coordinator of the National Coordination Center for Disaster Control (NCCR), Jerry Slijngard, recently attended a top meeting of the Caricom where they informed the member states that Suriname would provide food and equipment to help out the victims.

Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record Monday night when its winds increased to 160 mph as it barrelled through the south-eastern Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said.

Beryl tore through the Windward Islands on Monday after making landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou Island as a Category 4 storm at 11:10 a.m., according to the hurricane center. The hurricane had 150 mph winds when its eye made landfall on Carriacou. Power was out throughout Grenada and residents were advised to shelter in place as Beryl brought down power lines and tore away roofs. The last major hurricane to reach the country’s shores was Ivan, which caused widespread devastation with winds of more than 135 mph in 2004. At least one death was reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said late Monday, adding that there may be more fatalities. Gonsalves noted the widespread devastation in the area with hundreds of homes and buildings damaged or destroyed.

The government of Jamaica has issued a hurricane warning for the island, according to the hurricane center.

Hurricane Beryl’s stunning transformation from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in less than 42 hours has meteorologists reaching out for superlatives and issuing warnings. This is only the seventh time such a quick rise in category has occurred with an Atlantic storm, and never before had it happened before Sept. 1, the heart of the hurricane season…[+]