Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc

Category 4 storm hits southeast Caribbean, warning in effect for Jamaica

- DANICA COTO AND KOFI JONES

Hurricane Beryl ripped off doors, windows and roofs in homes across the southeastern Caribbean on Monday after making landfall on the island of Carriacou as the earliest storm of Category 4 strength to form in the Atlantic, fuelled by record-warm waters.

There were no immediate reports of possible deaths or injuries, with communications largely down across the region.

Streets from St. Lucia island south to Grenada were strewn with shoes, trees, downed power lines, and scores of other debris scattered by winds up to 240 km/h, just shy of a Category 5 storm. The storm snapped banana trees in half and killed cows that lay in green pastures as if they were sleeping, with homes made of tin and plywood tilting precariously nearby.