Cyclone Beryl has intensifiedor in the last hours to a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale and maintains its course towards the Yucatan Peninsulathe first blow will occur on the coasts of the state of Quintana Roo, in the Mexican Caribbean, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) of Mexico reported on Thursday.

In its most recent update, the SMN predicts that Beryl “will impact during the early hours of Friday as a Category 3 hurricane In Tulum, very close to the municipality of Solidaridad, including the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo”, its cloud bands will cause rain intense to torrential rain, strong winds and waves high in the Yucatan Peninsula.

“So far, the trajectory of Hurricane Beryl, Category 3, indicates that it will enter through Tulum, which is a populated area close to the sea. Therefore, It is advisable to move to higher ground, to shelters or houses of relatives and friends in other places.“Let us not hesitate, material things will recover. The most important thing is life,” wrote Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in a message on social media.

These are the areas affected by Beryl

The SMN has specified that at 19:30 local time (01:30 GMT on Friday) “Beryl intensified again to a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with Maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (km/h), gusts of 230 km/h and moving west at 26 km/h.” At that time, the hurricane was located 250 kilometers east-southeast of Cancun and 260 km east-southeast of Tulum, Quintana Roo.

The agency has urged the population, tourists and maritime navigation, to take extreme precautions against rain, wind and high waves, Heed their warnings and follow the recommendations of Civil Protection. The SMN, in coordination with the National Hurricane Center of the United States of America, maintains a hurricane prevention zone from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancún, Quintana Roo, including Cozumel.

In addition to the hurricane surveillance zone from Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya and from Cancun to Cabo Catoche, Quintana Roo, as well as the zone prevention due to the effects of tropical storms from Cancun, Quintana Roo, to Campeche. The Mexican Meteorological Service has warned that accumulated rainfall is expected in the period from July 4 to 9 in Tamaulipas of 300 to 350 millimeters (mm); Chiapas, Yucatan and Quintana Roo: 200 to 250 mm; Campeche, Veracruz, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca and Tabasco: 100 to 150 mm.

Seven dead in the Caribbean islands

Beryl is expected to cross the central portion of the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday and, at night, It is located in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexicooff the coasts of Campeche and Yucatan, as a tropical storm. The municipalities of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Tulum, Cozumel, Solidaridad and Jose Maria Morelos, on the coast of Quintana Roo were declared on red alert this Thursday, that is, “maximum danger” due to the approach of Beryl, the state governor, Mara Lezama, reported.

Cancun International Airport has reported the cancellation of 284 flightsmainly international, and has announced the suspension of flights, the same situation as the Tulum airfield, which suspended operations from 2:00 p.m. local time on Thursday until 12:00 p.m. next Sunday.

Also on Thursday, the Mexican government increased to 13,372 the number of agents from the Armed Forces and other agencies deployed in the area to deal with the effects of Beryl, which has left seven dead in its passage through the Caribbean islands.