Image source, EPA

The director of the US National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Beryl could have catastrophic consequences as it passes over Jamaica.

Dr Michael Brennan says "we could see the potential, obviously, of the core of a major hurricane moving across Jamaica with the potential for devastating to catastrophic wind damage."

He warned of "widespread damage" to homes, roofs, trees, power lines and infrastructure - and a possible storm surge of five to eight feet about normal tide levels along the coast of Jamaica.

Brennan adds that the capital Kingston, and elsewhere in the island's south coast, could see "potentially devastating wave action on top of that storm surge, creating a life-threating situation as well."

Image source, Reuters

“There are hardly any buildings left standing. Houses are flattened, roads are blocked, the electricity poles are down in the streets,” says Katrina Coy, a resident of Union island.

Having survived the night as the storm hit with ferocious force, Katrina says she was taken aback by the extent of the devastation.

Virtually every building on the island, which lies off St Vincent and the Grenadines, has been razed or badly damaged, she said.

Fisherman and fishing guide Sebastien Sailly agreed.

“Everything is lost. I have nowhere to live right now,” he said.

A resident of Union since 1985, he lived through Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

But Hurricane Beryl, he said, was on another level.

You can read more from their interviews here.

Jeremie Tronet tells the BBC how Hurricane Beryl has impacted his life on Union Island, where he has lived for 15 years.

"I lost my house, my businesses, everything," he says, describing it as "one of the worst hurricanes" the island has ever seen.

The North Atlantic could get as many as seven major hurricanes of category 3 strength or over this year, which would be more than double the usual number, the US weather agency Noaa has warned.

Normally you'd expect three major hurricanes in a season.

As many as 13 Atlantic hurricanes of category one or above are forecast for the period, which runs from June to November.

Record high sea surface temperatures are partly to blame, as is a likely shift in regional weather patterns.

While there's no evidence climate change is producing more hurricanes, it is making the most powerful ones more likely, and bringing heavier rainfall.

You can read more about why here.

Image source, .

Hurricane Beryl continues to break records with frightening speed.

It’s now the earliest in Atlantic hurricane history to reach the maximum level, Category 5 - before weakening to a still-destructive Category 4.

Its devastating power was felt with full force in several Caribbean nations.

The storm strengthened from a tropical depression into a major hurricane - category three or above - in only 42 hours, hurricane expert Sam Lillo told Associated Press news agency.

Carriacou Island, off Grenada’s coast, was “flattened in half-an-hour”, the country’s Prime Minister said.

Roofs were ripped off, power lines brought down and the island’s community remains almost entirely cut off.

It was a similar story on Union Island, which is part of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Mobile phone footage shows residents sifting through the rubble of their homes, trying to salvage their possessions.

Thousands remain in temporary shelters and power is expected to be out in much of St Vincent for several more days.

Image source, Reuters

We're beginning live coverage of Hurricane Beryl, which has reportedly already killed at least six people in its path in Grenada, Venezuela and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

It's now heading towards Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

The Category 5 storm was downgraded to a still-destructive Category 4.

The storm made landfall on Monday on Carriacou, an island in Grenada.

The US National Hurricane Center is warning of "life-threatening winds and storm surge" to Jamaica later today and the Cayman Islands tonight and tomorrow.

The winds are expected to be as fast as 250kp/h(155mp/h), and the storm surge as high as 2.4m(8ft).

We'll bring you the latest updates as they happen.