KINGSTON, Jamaica — Principal Director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service, Evan Thompson, is warning Jamaicans living on the island’s south coast that they will be particularly vulnerable to the effects of Hurricane Beryl, which is expected to impact the country on Wednesday.

Jamaica is presently on a hurricane watch after the first hurricane of the Atlantic Hurricane season, a category 4 storm, impacted several islands in the eastern Caribbean earlier on Monday before setting a path for the central and northwestern Caribbean that could see it impacting Jamaica in some way by mid-week.

Speaking Wednesday during a media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, Thompson noted that on passing Jamaica (the system, on its current path is expected to move south of the island), Beryl will likely be a category 2 hurricane, “and that means extremely dangerous winds could cause extensive damage. It’s nothing to scoff at, it’s nothing to be complacent about because it is still a serious and dangerous situation,” Thompson warned further.

He said potentially devastating storm surges could affect places like Caribbean Terrace in St Andrew, and Portland Cottage in Clarendon, similar to Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Portland Cottage was one of the areas in the country hardest hit during Ivan. Of the 15 deaths recorded in the country at the time, eight were in Portland Cottage which was overwhelmed by floodwaters caused by a system that remained some 60 miles off Jamaica’s south coast. It is not immediately clear how close Beryl will get to the island’s south coast, estimates on the weekend said it could pass some 150 miles from the coastline.

“In the key messages that have been promoted by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre, Beryl is expected to remain powerful, moving through the central and northwestern Caribbean and the watch it has indicated is now in effect for Jamaica.

“Jamaica is expected to anticipate the hazards that are related to hurricanes. That includes very heavy rainfall, it includes very strong winds, it also includes devastating storm surges. And what is most critical in this case is that the activity would come up along our southern coastline if the centre of the system moves off our coast to the south,” said Thompson.

“Therefore, any inlet, any bay along the southern coastline is at risk of storm surge flooding. So similar kinds of activity that have occurred in Caribbean (Terrace) in the past with Hurricane Ivan, and in Portland Cottage, those communities, and all other communities along the south coast would be at particular threat of storm surge flooding, also landslides,” Thompson added.

“The rainfall anticipated during this event should be tremendous and so we should prepare ourselves for it,” the Met Service head said.