Hurricane Beryl has intensified to category 5 storm after making landfall in the Windward Islands as it churned towards Jamaica.
The hurricane was located about 840miles (1,355km) east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, packing maximum sustained winds of 160mph (260km/h), the National Hurricane Centre said.
As the earliest-ever category 4 hurricane, Beryl brought deadly conditions to the Grenadine Islands, Carriacou Island and Grenada on Monday, killing at least one person.
Officials received “widespread reports of destruction and devastation in Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” Grenada prime minister Dickon Mitchell said.
“In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened.”
Mr Mitchell said he could not provide information on injuries or deaths as of Monday afternoon.
A computer model of Hurricane Beryl’s many possible paths, known as a “spaghetti” model, showed the path the destructive storm could take as it moved towards the southeastern US.
The model showed the storm potentially blowing into the Gulf Coast, near eastern Texas and Louisiana. However, meteorologists will not be able to make a definitive call about Hurricane Beryl’s potential impact on the US until it is much closer.