By Jose Cortes and Paola Chiomante
TULUM/CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) -Mexico's top tourist destinations went on "red alert" early on Friday as Hurricane Beryl, a Category 3 storm, was expected to hit land in the wake of a deadly trail of destruction across several Caribbean islands.
Beryl, packing maximum winds of 115 mph (185 kph), was on course to hit the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, warning of a dangerous storm surge and damaging waves overnight.
The unusually fierce, early season hurricane was about 90 miles (140 km) east of the Mexican beach resort of Tulum, the NHC said, with a hurricane warning declared along the Yucatan coast from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, including Cozumel.
The "red alert" called by Mexico's civil protection agency signifies a threat of maximum hazard from Beryl. It told people to stay in their homes or at storm shelters.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged those in the storm's path to take shelter after the meteorological service forecast heavy to torrential rains that could trigger landslides and flooding.
"No hesitating," the president wrote on social media. "Material things can be recovered. The most important thing is life."
The storm churned past the Cayman Islands on Thursday after belting Jamaica with winds that tore apart buildings and uprooted trees.
Authorities say at least 11 people have died from the storm across Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and in northern Venezuela.
The toll could rise as communications are restored and more reports flow in from islands devastated by floods and gales.
But late on Thursday, there were still people in the streets of Tulum as the storm approached, said Mara Lezama, governor of Quintana Roo, which is home to Mexico's top tourist destination of Cancun.
"It is time to protect ourselves and take care of those we love most," Lezama said in a posting on X. "We are still on red alert, we must take extreme precautions."
Tourists scrambled to catch the last flights out of Cancun international airport, where at least 100 flights were canceled on Thursday.
Some evening stragglers walked on the beach in Cancun as winds began picking up. In nearby Playa del Carmen, police blocked off beach entrances with yellow caution tape to dissuade visitors.
Beryl had weakened since skirting Jamaica's southern coast on Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with Prime Minister Andrew Holness saying there were two storm-related deaths.
Joseph Patterson, a bee keeper in the southwestern town of Bogue, described fallen power lines, roads blocked by debris and "tremendous damage" to farms.
"We're happy to be alive, happy that the damage was not more extensive," he added.
Beryl was forecast to dump as much as 4 inches to 6 inches (10 cm to 15 cm) of rain on Mexico's Yucatan through Friday, rising to 10 inches (25 cm) in some places, the NHC said.
It expects the storm to weaken rapidly while crossing the peninsula early on Friday, but sees Beryl getting stronger again when it moves over the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm is expected to move toward northeastern Mexico and southern Texas late in the weekend, the NHC said.
TOURISTS BEWARE
On Thursday, the island getaway of Isla Mujeres evacuated about 3,000 tourists back to the mainland near Cancun, its tourism director, Jose Magana, said.
Workers in Cancun and Playa del Carmen could be seen filling sand bags and boarding up doors and windows in shops and hotels.
Fisherman Jose Martin was one of several who docked his boat in Cancun ahead of Beryl's arrival.
"It affects us a good deal because, first, we can't work, and second, we need to find shelter," Martin said.
Schools were closed on Thursday and Friday in the state of Quintana Roo, where Mexico's defense ministry opened about 120 storm shelters to prepare for expected flooding.
Mexico's civil protection agency urged people to take pets indoors or find them a safe place, with some government-run shelters taking in cats and dogs.
"I love Cookie very much," said Edgar Novelo, a resident of Tulum, referring to his pet dog, as he took her to a temporary refuge. "All the love I have is for her."
Tulum residents queued at gas stations to fill their tanks and additional containers, while hotels and tourist complexes moved loose furniture and equipment.
Mexico's major oil platforms, most clustered around the shallow waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico, are not expected to be affected or shut down.
Oil projects in U.S. waters to the north could be hit if the hurricane stays on its expected trajectory.
The first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, Beryl was the earliest Category 5 storm on record at its peak.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an "extraordinary" storm season this year, as scientists say climate change caused by humans fuels weather extremes.
(Reporting by Zahra Burton in Kingston, José de Jesús Cortes and Raquel Cunha in Tulum, and Paola Chiomante in Cancun; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Boyle in Mexico City, Robertson Henry in St. Vincent and Natalia Siniawski in Gdansk; Writing by Cassandra Garrison and David Alire Garcia; Editing by Kim Coghill and Clarence Fernandez)
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