Beryl heads toward Jamaica as a major hurricane after ripping through southeast Caribbean

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (AP) — Hurricane Beryl roared through open waters Tuesday as a powerful Category 4 storm heading toward Jamaica after earlier crossing islands in the southeast Caribbean, killing at least six people.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Beryl was losing intensity but was forecast to still be near major-hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica early Wednesday, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A hurricane watch was in effect for Haiti's southern coast and the Yucatan’s east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City.

Late Monday, Beryl became the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic and peaked at winds of 165 mph (270 kph) Tuesday before weakening to a still-destructive Category 4. Early Wednesday, the storm was about 250 miles (400 kilometers) east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It had top winds of 145 mph (230 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph (35 kph), the center said.

Beryl was expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica, where officials warned residents in flood-prone areas to prepare for evacuation.

“I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a public address Tuesday. “It is, however, not a time to panic.”

In Miami, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said Jamaica appears to be in the direct path of Beryl.

“We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we are expecting the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island,” he said in an online briefing. “You want to be in a safe place where you can ride out the storm by nightfall (Tuesday). Be prepared to stay in that location through Wednesday.”

Storm surge of 6-9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) above typical tide levels are likely in Jamaica, as well as heavy rainfall.

“This is a big hazard in the Caribbean, especially with the mountainous islands,” Brennan said. “This could cause life threatening flash floods and mudslides in some of these areas.”

A tropical storm warning was in place for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

As the storm barreled through the Caribbean Sea, rescue crews in southeastern islands fanned out to determine the extent of the damage Beryl inflicted on Carriacou, an island in Grenada.

Three people were reported killed in Grenada and Carriacou and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said. Two other deaths were reported in northern Venezuela, where five people are missing, officials said. Some 25,000 people in that area also were affected by heavy rainfall from Beryl.

One fatality in Grenada occurred after a tree fell on a house, Kerryne James, the environment minister, told The Associated Press.

She said Carriacou and Petit Martinique sustained the greatest damage, with scores of homes and businesses flattened in Carriacou.

"The situation is grim," Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told a news conference Tuesday. “There is no power, and there is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island. The roads are not passable, and in many instances they are cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets.”

Mitchell added: "The possibility that there may be more fatalities remains a grim reality as movement is still highly restricted.”

Meanwhile, Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, promised to rebuild the archipelago in a statement early Tuesday. He noted that 90% of homes on Union Island were destroyed, and that “similar levels of devastation” were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan.

Several people evacuated Union Island via ferry and arrived at the Kingstown Ferry Terminal in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday.

Sharon DeRoche, one of the evacuees, said Union Island is in a terrible state. She bore the hurricane in her bathroom before she fled. “It was a hard four hours battling with six of us in that little area,” she said.

The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

Grenadian resident Roy O'Neale, 77, lost his home to Ivan and built back stronger. His current home sustained minimal damage from Beryl.

“I felt the wind whistling, and then for about two hours straight, it was really, really terrifying at times,” he said by phone. “Branches of trees were flying all over the place.”

Hundreds of people hunkered in shelters across the southeast Caribbean, including 50 adults and 20 children who huddled inside a school in Grenada.

“Maybe some of them thought they could have survived in their homes, but when they realized the severity of it … they came for cover,” said Urban Mason, a retired teacher who served as the shelter's manager. “People tend to be complacent.”

One of the homes that Beryl damaged belongs to the parents of U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, who is from Carriacou. The storm also destroyed the home of his late grandmother.

In a statement, Stiell said that the climate crisis is worsening, faster than expected.

“Whether in my homeland of Carriacou … hammered by Hurricane Beryl, or in the heatwaves and floods crippling communities in some of the world’s largest economies, it’s clear that the climate crisis is pushing disasters to record-breaking new levels of destruction,” he said.

Grenada, known as the “spice isle,” is one of the world's top exporters of nutmeg. Mitchell noted that the bulk of the spices are grown in the northern part of the island, which was hit hardest by Beryl.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press journalists Anika Kentish in St. John, Antigua, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jorge Rueda in Caracas and Lucanus Ollivierre in Kingstown, St. Vincent, contributed to this report.

Waves from Hurricane Beryl hit the seawall in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

This combination of satellite images provided by MaxarTechnologies shows views of buildings and beaches on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on May 8, 2023, top, and bottom on July 2, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl made landfall across multiple Caribbean islands. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This combination of satellite images provided by MaxarTechnologies shows views of the Caribbean island Martinique, Grenada, on May 8, 2023, top, and bottom on July 2, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl made landfall across multiple islands. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Family members survey their home destroyed in the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Family members begin to repair their home damaged in the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Family members begin to repair their home damaged in the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Pastor Winston Alleyne clears trees felled by Hurricane Beryl in Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Family members begin to repair their home damaged in the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

A crane lifts a boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl out of the water at the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A hotel swimming pool remains closed the day after wind from Hurricane Beryl filled it with sand and debris in Bridgetown, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fishermen fix up a boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl to be lifted from the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The island, in the Grenadines archipelago, was hit by Hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

A fisherman throws a rope across boats damaged by Hurricane Beryl at Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Boats damaged by Hurricane Beryl wade in the water at the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Neighbors look out at beach erosion and a fallen tree the day after Hurricane Beryl hit St. James, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Palm trees wilt after being uprooted by Hurricane Beryl in St. Patrick, Grenada, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Haron Forteau)

Fishermen untangle ropes of fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The island, in the Grenadines archipelago, was hit by Hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Fishermen play dominoes after pulling their boats out of the water to protect them from Hurricane Beryl in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

A man covers the windows of a building to protect it from the incoming Hurricane Beryl in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The island, in the Grenadines archipelago, was hit by Hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Fishermen push a boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown fisheries, Barbados, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Evacuees from Union Island arrive in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The island, in the Grenadines archipelago, was hit by Hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Roofs of houses lie damaged by Hurricane Beryl in St. Patrick, Grenada, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Haron Forteau)

A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl sit upended at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Sylvia Small, right, waits for police approval to enter the pier to check her boat's damages due to Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A fisherman looks out at vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fisherman Hamilton Cosmos looks at vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fishing vessels lie damaged after Hurricane Beryl passed through the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A tree lies on the roof of a house in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, after Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Houses damaged by Hurricane Beryl in Kingstown, Srt. Vincent and the Grenadines, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 10:50pm EDT shows hurricane Beryl, center, as it moves across the Caribbean on Monday, July 1, 2024. Hurricane Beryl has strengthened to Category 5 status as it crossed islands in the southeastern Caribbean. (NOAA via AP)

Fishermen pull a boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl back to the dock at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

SEATTLE (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn had a key two-out, two-run double and later added a solo home run, Dean Kremer threw five shutout innings in his first start since late May, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Wednesday night.

Baltimore won for the sixth time in seven games and continued Seattle’s recent side that has seen a 10-game lead in the AL West dwindle down to two. The Mariners lost for the 10th time in 13 games.

“Similar tune. Unfortunately we struggled to get much traction offensively at all and you can't have perfect pitching,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.

Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 21st save for Baltimore and 438th of his career moving him into fourth-place alone on the all-time saves list ahead of Francisco Rodriguez.

“Anytime you have the opportunity to be on this list and to surpass a guy that you got to spend time with and enjoyed their craft and what they did, it's really cool,” Kimbrel said.

O’Hearn, who finished second to Yordan Alvarez in All-Star Game voting as the AL designated hitter, delivered the big blow during a two-out rally in the third inning off Seattle starter Logan Gilbert.

O’Hearn’s drive to deep left-center field clipped off the glove of Julio Rodríguez as he tried to make a sliding catch on the warning track. Rodríguez was immediately angry with himself for not making the catch as Ramon Urias and Adley Rutschman scored. Anthony Santander followed with a single to score O’Hearn.

“I don't know how he almost got there. He started in the right-center gap but I'm glad he didn't come up with it,” O'Hearn said.

Two innings later, O’Hearn hit his 11th homer of the season on a cutter from Gilbert that stayed in the middle of the plate.

That turned out to be plenty of run support for Kremer, who made his first start since May 20 due to a triceps strain. Kremer (4-4) didn’t allow a hit until Ty France dribbled a single through the infield with one out in the fourth inning. Using his splitter significantly more than his average for the season, Kremer gave up two hits, struck out eight and allowed only one base runner to reach second.

“For him to go on a big league mound, on the road and go five scoreless innings, that was as sharp as he's been really all year for me,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

Cal Raleigh’s 15th homer of the season off Baltimore reliever Keegan Akin in the sixth inning ended the shutout. But the Mariners have scored more than three runs once in the last eight games.

Gilbert (5-5) had allowed two earned runs in his previous three starts combined, but his control was not sharp. Gilbert’s three walks matched the combined total for his eight previous starts dating to May 20.

“Against good teams, especially at this level, it really is a game of inches where it could have gone either way,” Gilbert said.

BULLPEN BOUND

Hyde said LHP Cole Irvin will move to the bullpen for now with the return of Kremer, rather than having six-man rotation. Irvin has started 14 games this season for the Orioles.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: LHP Nick Vespi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

Mariners: RHP Gregory Santos made it through is first rehab outing at Triple-A Tacoma without issue. The Mariners are hoping he will need only one or two more outings before rejoining the team.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Corbin Burnes (9-3, 2.28) had 11 strikeouts in six innings in his first start against Seattle earlier this season.

Mariners: RHP Bryce Miller (6-7, 3.88) has lost two straight starts. Miller allowed two runs in five innings in his last start against Minnesota.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Seattle Mariners starter Logan Gilbert delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Baltimore Orioles starter Dean Kremer delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Mariners starter Logan Gilbert delivers a pitch during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Baltimore Orioles' Ramon Urias, left, and Adley Rutschman celebrate after scoring runs during the third inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Baltimore Orioles starter Dean Kremer delivers a pitch during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Baltimore Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn hits a RBI-double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Baltimore Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn celebrates with Anthony Santander after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)