St Lucia was battered by torrential rain, storm surges, and powerful winds as Hurricane Beryl plowed through the southeastern Caribbean on Monday, July 1. The St Lucia Meteorological Service recorded gusts reaching more than 60 mph, and urged residents to stay away from beaches and coastlines amid “very rough” waves and swells reaching up to 20 feet. This footage captured by local resident Dion Jn Baptiste shows heavy rain and gusts whipping Gros Islet, on the north of the Island. Hurricane Beryl became a Category 5 storm on Monday, the earliest in the season such an extreme storm has appeared in recorded history, according to the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. The storm is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/weather/tropics/hurricane-beryl-damage-caribbean/67-41baec60-98bd-4fb7-a26f-0ff82d3c67af