TULUM, Mexico — After ravaging Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl returned to the warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico, where the hurricane was expected to regain hurricane strength on Saturday before reaching the Texas coast. There, authorities urged residents to prepare for a possible hurricane.
The first storm that developed into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths when it passed near the Caribbean islands earlier this week. It then pounded Mexico as a Category 2 Hurricanewhich toppled trees, but no injuries or fatalities were reported. The storm weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted Friday night that Beryl would strengthen on Saturday before making landfall, prompting extended hurricane and storm surge warnings.
“There is an increasing risk of damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surges across portions of northeastern Mexico and coastal central and southern Texas late Sunday and Monday,” the center warned.
Texas officials warned the state’s entire coastline to brace for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind as they waited for the storm’s path to clear. On Friday, the hurricane center issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande north to San Luis Pass, less than 80 miles (128.75 kilometers) south of Houston.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is in Taiwan, has issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 40 counties.
“Everyone along the (Texas) coast should be paying attention to this storm,” Patrick said. “We’re hoping and praying for nothing more than a rain shower.”
Some coastal Texas cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the Fourth of July holiday weekend to remove their recreational vehicles from coastal parks. In Corpus Christi, city officials announced they had distributed 10,000 sandbags in less than two hours on Friday, exhausting the supply.
Beryl is already spreading destruction in JamaicaSt. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados this week. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.
Mexican authorities had evacuated some tourists and residents from low-lying areas around the Yucatan Peninsula before they made landfall, but tens of thousands remained behind to brave the strong winds and storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is only a few meters above sea level.
The city was plunged into darkness as the storm knocked out power as it made landfall. Howling winds set off car alarms across the city. Wind and rain continued to batter the coastal city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades were seen sweeping the streets of the tourist city clearing fallen trees and power lines.
After watching Beryl tear through the Caribbean, 37-year-old Lucía Nagera Balcaza was among those who stocked up on food and retreated to their homes.
“Luckily we woke up this morning and everything was fine,” she said. “The streets are a disaster, but we are here cleaning up.”
Although there were no deaths or injuries, nearly half of Tulum was still without power, said Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Mexico’s Civil Protection.
While many on the Yucatan Peninsula were taking a deep breath, Jamaica and other islands ravaged by the hurricane were still reeling. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness promised swift aid for residents after visiting one of the island’s worst-hit areas, the southern parish of St. Elizabeth, on Thursday.
Before the storm hit Mexico, officials had set up shelters in schools and hotels. When the winds began to blow across Tulum’s beaches on Thursday, officials rode four-wheelers with bullhorns across the sand, telling people to leave, and authorities evacuated beachfront hotels. Sea turtle eggs were even moved from beaches threatened by storm surges.
Tourists also took precautions. Lara Marsters, 54, a therapist visiting Tulum from Boise, Idaho, said she filled empty water bottles from the tap.
“We’re going to hide and stay safe,” she said.
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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers John Myers Jr. and Renloy Trail in Kingston, Jamaica; Mark Stevenson and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City; Coral Murphy Marcos in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Lucanus Ollivierre in Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines also contributed to this report.