Caribbean braces for 'extremely dangerous' Hurricane beryl

Bridgetown, Barbados: Much of the southeast Caribbean was on alert Sunday as Berylstrengthened into the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, w...

Bridgetown, Barbados: Much of the southeast Caribbean was on alert Sunday as Beryl strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, with forecasters warning of an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl -- currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 465 miles (750 kilometers) east of Barbados -- was expected to bring "life-threatening winds and storm surge" when it reaches the Windward Islands early Monday.

Warning the storm is "continuing to rapidly intensify," the NHC forecast it would become an "extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane" by the time it hit Caribbean communities.

Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada were all under hurricane warnings, while tropical storm warnings or watches were in effect for Martinique, Tobago and Dominica, the NHC said in its latest advisory.

Cars were seen lined up at gas stations Saturday in the Barbadian capital Bridgetown, while supermarkets and grocery stores were crowded with shoppers buying food, water and other supplies. Some households were already boarding up their properties.