Hurricane Beryl slams into Jamaica as Cayman Islands prepares for impact within hours: Live updates

Hurricane Beryl is hitting Jamaica with life-threatening rain and 145mph winds this afternoon after charting a deadly path through the eastern Caribbean.

High winds from the Category 4 storm have already knocked down power lines in Portland, the Jamaica Observer reports. Officials have declared Jamaica a disaster area and imposed a curfew for Wednesday.

There are more than 900 shelters across Jamaica and an evacuation process for those in flood-prone and low-lying areas, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Wednesday morning.

The storm’s eye will approach the Cayman Islands tonight before heading toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

Hurricane Beryl has killed at least seven people so far. The storm intensified to the earliest Category 5 storm recorded in the Atlantic overnight before weakening back to Category 4 on Tuesday.

While the storm is expected to weaken later this week, it will likely remain a major hurricane. Hurricane Beryl also has the potential to hit southern Texas and Louisiana over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Grenada was left with “unimaginable” destruction after the storm passed through Monday, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said. Officials said 98 percent of buildings in the nation of 6,000 had been damaged or destroyed.