By Paola Chiomante and Jose de Jesus Cortes
CANCUN/TULUM, Mexico (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Beryl was heading toward the Gulf of Mexico on Friday afternoon and looked likely to hit Texas on Sunday night after its strong winds and rains spared Mexico’s top beach destinations much of the impact.
The core of the storm, downgraded from a hurricane, crossed the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday afternoon, with its maximum winds reducing to around 105 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) after hitting near the coastal resort of Tulum in the morning.
The storm, which at one point intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, left a deadly trail of destruction in the Caribbean earlier this week. However, there were no casualties in Mexico, the head of the country’s civil protection agency, Laura Velázquez, said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Although Beryl’s passage over the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan brought slower winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center still forecast dangerous storm surge in the surrounding area.
For those who crouched as Beryl flailed overhead, a sense of relief prevailed.
“My God! It was quite an experience!” said Mexican tourist Juan Ochoa, who was staying in Tulum.
“Actually, only a few plants were blown away,” he said. “Thank God, we’re all okay.”
The tourist infrastructure in Quintana Roo remained undamaged, the state government said in a statement.
Still, many in the area were left without power, including 40% of Tulum, said Guillermo Nevarez, an official with Mexico’s national power company, CFE, speaking to local broadcaster Milenio.
Civil protection chief Velázquez said he expected service to be fully restored by Sunday.
Among Mexico’s top tourist destinations, the Yucatan Peninsula is known for its white sand beaches, lush landscapes and Mayan ruins.
Stranded tourists camped out at Cancun’s international airport on Friday, unsure when they would return home.
Nora Vento said her flight back to Chile was postponed several times and her airline’s counter was unstaffed.
“So I don’t know when I’ll get to Chile,” he said.
Beryl, currently over the port of Progreso in Yucatan state, Mexico, is expected to gain intensity as it enters the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to regain hurricane status and approach the western Gulf Coast on Sunday.
A hurricane watch was in effect for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to Sargent, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Mexico’s weather service has issued a hurricane warning for the northeastern coast of Mexico from Barra el Mezquital to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
“There is an increasing risk of damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge across portions of northeastern Mexico and the lower and mid-Texas coast late Sunday and Monday, where hurricane and storm surge warnings have been issued,” the NHC said.
He warned that flash and urban flooding was possible along parts of the Texas Gulf Coast and East Texas from Sunday through the middle of next week.
Rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches, with localized amounts of 15 inches, are projected for portions of the Texas Gulf Coast and East Texas beginning Sunday night through the middle of next week.
Mexico’s National Water Commission, CONAGUA, has warned of a risk of flooding in the areas surrounding tourist resorts and in the neighbouring state of Campeche.
Quintana Roo schools were closed, as were local beaches, and officials lifted a temporary ban on alcohol sales.
Beryl was the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, and this week became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record; scientists say its rapid strengthening is almost certainly driven by man-made climate change.
Before reaching Mexico, Beryl wreaked havoc on several Caribbean islands. It passed through Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and brought heavy rains to northern Venezuela. It has caused at least 11 deaths, destroying buildings and knocking down power lines and trees.
The destruction on the islands of Grenada was especially pronounced.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell noted that there had been significant damage to homes in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique during a video news conference Thursday evening. Parts of the latter two islands suffered “almost total devastation,” he said.
“Many of our citizens have lost everything.”
Mexico’s major oil platforms, located mainly on the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, are not expected to be affected or shut down.
Beryl is also expected to have little impact on US offshore oil and gas production, energy companies said on Friday, as they evacuated staff from some facilities as a precaution.
The ClimaMeter consortium’s research found that climate change significantly intensified Beryl. According to the study, the severity of the storm, along with associated rainfall and wind speeds, increased by between 10 and 30 percent as a direct result of climate change.