KINGSTON — Hurricane Beryl churned menacingly over Jamaica on Wednesday afternoon (July 3), after uprooting trees, ripping off roofs and destroying farms as it forged a destructive, water-soaked path across smaller Caribbean islands over the past couple days.

The death toll from the powerful Category 4 hurricane rose to at least nine, but it is widely expected to rise as communications come back online across drenched islands damaged by flooding and deadly winds.

In Jamaica, the storm hit the island's southern coast on Wednesday afternoon, pummelling communities with intense wind and rain as emergency groups evacuated people living in flood-prone communities.

"It's terrible. Everything's gone. I'm in my house and scared," said Amoy Wellington, a 51-year-old cashier who lives in Top Hill, a rural farming community in Jamaica's southern St. Elizabeth parish. "It's a disaster."

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