Foreign Office issues alert for 9 hotspots amid ‘evacuation’ threat

Brits with their sights set on Caribbean getaways are being cautioned by the Foreign Office, which has flagged up a hurricane warning that could pose a serious threat to life – and warned people could be evacuated. The government body has updated its travel advice for nine popular holiday spots among UK travellers, as a new hurricane alert is announced, poised to batter the islands imminently.

The Foreign Office’s latest guidance on its website specifically targets those considering trips to St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda. The officials said: “Weather projections forecast a major hurricane to hit the region possibly as early as Sunday 30 June and into the following week. You should follow and monitor local and international weather updates from the US National Hurricane Center and follow the advice of local authorities, including any evacuation orders. See Extreme weather and natural disasters.”

It added: “The hurricane season runs from June to November. You should follow and monitor local and international weather updates from the US National Hurricane Center and follow the advice of local authorities, including any evacuation orders.”

This advisory comes as meteorologists issue warnings about tropical storm Beryl, which is expected to escalate into a catastrophic major hurricane before it hits Barbados sometime late Sunday or early Monday. As of Saturday, the storm was tracking towards the southeast Caribbean, with a ‘big storm’ categorised by winds reaching at least 111 mph (178 kph), equivalent to category 3 or above.

Beryl is tipped to be the second heavyweight hurricane in a season that spans June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. The hurricane centre of Beryl is expected to pass roughly 26 miles (45 kilometres) south of Barbados, as stated by Sabu Best, the director of the island’s meteorological department.

Accompanied by gusts of wind reaching up to 65 mph (100 kph), Beryl was located approximately 785 miles (1,260 km) southeast of Barbados on Saturday. The hurricane was making its journey westward at a speed of 37 kph (23 mph), reports the Express.

Warnings for hurricanes have been issued for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. However, Martinique, Dominica, and Tobago were under the alert for a tropical storm.

Florida-based expert on hurricanes, Michael Lowry, shared on X: “It’s astonishing to see a forecast for a major (Category 3+) hurricane in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl organising in a hurry over the warmest waters ever recorded for late June.”

Saturday saw Beryl situated about 720 miles east-south-east of Barbados, clocking maximum sustained winds at 75mph whilst it continued moving west at 22mph. “Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” said the National Hurricane Centre based in Miami.

Warm ocean water fuels Beryl, with the heat content in the deep Atlantic striking the highest on record for this time of year, as highlighted by Brian McNoldy, a researcher specializing in tropical meteorology at the University of Miami.

Beryl has been recorded as the most powerful June tropical storm in that part of the tropical Atlantic, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.

“We need to be ready,” stated Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley during a public address on Friday. “You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”