Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Caribbean with 'extremely dangerous' 150-mph winds

The eye of Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou Island Monday morning with sustained winds of 150 mph — strengthening dangerously close to Category 5 status.

The storm ripped off roofs and damaged utility and communications systems in the region, leaving residents unable to take complete stock of the impacts.

No deaths or injuries were immediately reported.

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” said the National Hurricane Center.

Residents of the Grenadine Islands and Grenada were warned to remain sheltered until the Category 4 hurricane had passed. The storm was headed northwest at 20 mph Monday evening as the core of the storm pulled away from the Windward Islands.

The wind damage could be catastrophic to the southeastern Caribbean islands as Hurricane Beryl barrels through, along with a life-threatening storm surge that could raise water levels as much as 6 to 9 feet above the normal tide levels.

The storm is expected to produce 3 to 6 inches of rainfall across Barbados and the Windward Islands through Monday afternoon, which could lead to flash flooding. The National Hurricane Center said a localized rainfall amount of 10 inches could be seen in the Grenadines, Tobago and Grenada.

There have already been multiple reports of downed trees, flooded streets, power outages and storm-surge flooding in the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados and Tobago, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for most of the Windward Islands ahead of the storm, while Jamaica is under a hurricane watch and should start to see hurricane conditions by Wednesday. Martinique and St. Lucia are still under a tropical storm warning, while the south coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are under a tropical storm watch.

Hurricane Beryl is expected to weaken some as it moves through the central Caribbean, but the National Hurricane Center said it believes the storm will maintain its hurricane status as it heads toward the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico on Thursday.

According to The Associated Press , the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean islands was Hurricane Ivan, which killed dozens of people in Grenada 20 years ago.

Beryl is the first Atlantic hurricane of the season , and has drawn on the fuel of warm ocean waters to become the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record.

Watch below: International Space Station flies over Hurricane Beryl