“The main objective of the Community is now the security of citizens. “Several Member States, including the host nation, Grenada, are now involved in preparations and emergency planning to address the aftermath of the hurricane,” said the statement, which did not determine the next date of the conclave.

“We implore everyone in the path of this hurricane to take all necessary protective measures. The Community is ready to support our Member States that will be affected by this dangerous hurricane,” he states.

Grenada will be under a state of emergency starting at 7:00 p.m. local time today due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl, which is expected to hit the island in a few hours.

In less than 24 hours, this atmospheric phenomenon moved from one category to another with ease and its maximum sustained winds were from 56 to 215 kilometers per hour between Saturday afternoon and this Sunday.

Official data indicate that Beryl is the major hurricane (category 4 so far) that has occurred in the Atlantic at the earliest in the last 58 years, and the earliest to occur east of the Lesser Antilles (where storms tend to form more late in the summer, when the waters are warmer).

They also predict that it will be the earliest hurricane to hit the Windward Islands.

With these conditions, a cyclone alert is in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to tropical storm alerts issued for Martinique and Dominica.

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