American tourists remain stranded in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl continues its path through the Caribbean Sea towards Mexico.
Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 storm, has been traversing the region this week. The storm made landfall in Jamaica on Wednesday.
Casey Haley, a newlywed, told Digital that she recently traveled to Jamaica to celebrate her honeymoon. She and her husband were married on Saturday and arrived in the country on Sunday morning.
“Initially, we were told not to worry and that everything would be fine. Now they are actively preparing for the storm,” she explained.
The bride observed guests leaving their resort on Monday evening. When she and her husband inquired about the situation with the hotel staff, they received conflicting information.
“Our room is on the 10th floor, and you’re not supposed to be that high during a hurricane,” Haley said. “Therefore, we decided to find a safe spot within our building. We found an inner stairwell that is away from all windows and doesn’t have a ton of ceiling above us.”
The couple was subsequently moved to a conference room. Haley noted that the resort “seems a little frantic.”
“It was calm right up until this morning,” she said. “There was a lot of last-minute boarding up and preparations.”
“That’s when the reality of the situation sunk in, but we took a breath, said a prayer, and did all the prep we could,” she said. “The storm is hitting now, so we will likely be losing all contact soon.”
Despite the uncertainty, Haley stated that she still holds out hope for the best.
“We feel prepared and we are prayerful,” she said. “Everything else is now out of our control and our goal is to respond to whatever happens with level heads.”
Tourist Kiki Barry, vacationing in Jamaica with her friend, told Digital that she was scheduled to depart on Wednesday before Sangster International Airport (MBJ) closed due to the storm.
“We are in a safe place, they have converted the and convention center inside into a shelter,” she explained. “We have plenty [of] food, drinks, some indoor fans and portable air conditioners. We have movies and games the staff have planned.”
Barry added that she felt “calm but anxious,” and commended her hotel for maintaining the “good spirits” of their guests.
“We had a very good trip, just ready to get home to our husbands and children,” she said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least six people have been killed amidst the storm. AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter expressed “very serious concerns about a wide range of life-threatening impacts in Jamaica.”
“[This is] the strongest and most dangerous hurricane threat that Jamaica has faced, probably, in decades,” he said.