Caribbean braces for powerful Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl plowed toward the southeast Caribbean early Monday as officials warned residents to seek shelter ahead of powerful winds.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Beryl currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 110 miles southeast of Barbados remained a dangerous major hurricane as its core moves through the Windward Islands into the eastern Caribbean.

A state of emergency was declared in Tobago, the smaller of the two islands that make up Trinidad and Tobago, with schools ordered closed on Monday. Beryl became the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season early Saturday morning, the first ever to reach that level in June, according to NHC records.