AP PHOTOS: From the Caribbean to Texas, Hurricane Beryl leaves a trail of destruction
Hurricane Beryl has been barreling through the Atlantic for over a week, fueled by exceptionally warm waters to become the earliest Category 5 hurricane.
It decimated Caribbean islands like Barbados and Jamaica, with a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines almost entirely destroyed. It slammed into Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula on Friday and struck Texas by Monday, each time regaining its strength over water.
Jackie Jecmenek, right, talks with city worker Bobby Head as she stands in front of her neighbor’s home after Beryl passed, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Texas
In Texas, where Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, the storm unleashed heavy wind and rain, toppling trees and power lines.
A vehicle is stranded in high waters on a flooded highway in Houston, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)
Boarded-up windows lined suburbs. Cars were stranded on flooded highways. Residents stayed put inside homes and hotels with no power.
A hotel guest navigates the halls after power was lost due to Hurricane Beryl, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
After the worst of the storm passed, many residents worked to clear roads from tree branches and other debris.
A motorcyclist manuevers a street flooded by heavy rains from Hurricane Beryl, in Tulum, Mexico, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Mexico
Before it reached Texas, Beryl caused havoc in Tulum, Mexico, where tens of thousands were without power as it swept through the region as a Category 2 hurricane.
People walk past a souvenir shop’s storefront boarded up preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Wind and rain whipped the seaside city through Friday. Residents sheltered in schools and hotels, and officials patrolled beaches to evacuate residents and tourists alike.
People line up to receive food at an army-provided soup kitchen for those impacted by Hurricane Beryl in Tulum, Mexico, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Those displaced were able to find some respite — and food — at shelters, with the army organizing soup kitchens. Others risked traveling through heavily flooded streets.
People stand on a rock during the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Tulum, Mexico, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Caribbean
But Beryl’s heaviest destruction was in the Caribbean, where entire towns — and even whole islands — were left decimated. The Category 5 storm ripped roofs off of homes and destroyed and tangled up boats on shorelines. Waves full of debris crashed onto the sand.
Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)
In Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, an arena was converted into a shelter with row upon row of thin beds and blankets.
People sit on cots in the National Arena that has been transformed into a shelter in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, in Kingston, Jamaica, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)
The destruction Beryl left behind will need months, and in some cases years, of rebuilding and recovery.
Boats damaged by Hurricane Beryl wade in the water at the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
A man looks out of the window of his home, which was destroyed by Hurricane Beryl in Clifton, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)
A house sits roofless after being damaged by Hurricane Beryl in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, Jamaica, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Hudson)
Donna Charles, a hotel cook, watches as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
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