
The southeast Caribbean began shutting down on Sunday as residents braced for potentially life-threatening winds and flash flooding from Hurricane Beryl, which has strengthened into a Category 4 storm, US forecasters said. Government officials pleaded with people to take shelter as hurricane experts warned that it was extremely rare for such a powerful storm to form this early in the Atlantic hurricane season.
Hurricane Beryl has become a very dangerous Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to bring life-threatening winds and flash flooding to the Caribbean's Windward Islands as it rapidly strengthens into Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.