Newly-married American couples stranded in Caribbean as Hurricane Beryl hits
American couples have been left trapped in their hotel suites as Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Caribbean and put a damper on their honeymoons.
Emma Steinke and her new husband Alex, both 26, flew 12 hours from Chicago and landed in Grenada around 5 p.m. on Saturday.
On Sunday the couple was told to hunker down in their honeymoon suite at the Sandals resort to brace for impact from the deadly category five storm.
The new bride documented their time together on TikTok sharing her 'hurricane haul' from the gift shop which included a bag of chips, a granola bar, chocolates and candles.
'It was a bit surreal. We had just gotten to paradise, so it was a lot to process, especially being from the Midwest, where we don't experience this,' Emma told People.
Emma and Alex Steinke, both 26, flew 12 hours to Grenada only to be stuck in their honeymoon suite as Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Caribbean
The new bride documented their experience showing the destruction to the Sandals resort
Fences around the property were toppled, chairs knocked into the pool and the head of a palm tree was completely severed
'It progressed so rapidly that when we started our travel day, it was a tropical storm, and by the time we landed, it was a hurricane watch,' she says.
'We are staying inside. The resort instructed guests not to leave their rooms until they say it's safe, so we've been following their instructions. We've been keeping our phones charged as well and trying to conserve water/food as much as possible.'
As the storm ripped through Grenada and damaged about 98 percent of the buildings on the islands, water seeped through their hotel room walls and they were forced to take down the television to avoid electrical damage.
On Tuesday the couple was allowed out of their room and they documented the destruction done to the resort.
Fences around the property were toppled, chairs knocked into the pool and the head of a palm tree was completely severed.
'As far as we can tell, at the resort, there isn't much damage so we're hoping we can get a few more days of sun and be able to experience the island a little bit,' Emma said.
Sea waves break as Hurricane Beryl approaches Kingston, Jamaica on Wednesday
Workers save pieces of a tin fence that was blown apart as winds from Hurricane Beryl passes through Kingston on Wednesday
'It's unfortunate but it is what it is. We're hoping it doesn't affect anything like our flight out but we're well aware it could,' adds Emma.
'We're mostly just hoping everyone remains safe, especially the island natives and the staff at our resort that are working so hard for us.'
Another couple, Scarlette and Brady from Ohio, got married on June 29 and flew to Negril, Jamaica for their honeymoon and are bracing for impact from the storm.
'Hurricane Beryl is en route to hut us sometime this afternoon,' Scarlette said on TikTok.
'The wind is picking up just a bit and the waves were nothing like this yesterday. We are Midwesterners, we're from Ohio, so we have never experienced a hurricane before.
'The resort has done a great job in making us feel safe. We went to the gift shop yesterday and picked up some snacks and water and we're going to move all of this furniture into our room.'
Scarlette and Brady got married on June 29 and flew to Negril, Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl is approaching
New modeling suggests the hurricane will move through six U.S. states and a hurricane warning is in effect for the popular beach towns of Cancun and Cozumel in Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center forecasts that devastating winds and life-threatening storm surges are expected to begin in Jamaica Wednesday afternoon and spread into the Cayman Islands.
Damaging winds and heavy rainfall are predicted over portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize on Thursday.
Three people were reported killed in Grenada and Carriacou and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said.
Two other deaths were reported in northern Venezuela, where five people are missing, officials said. About 25,000 people in that area also were affected by heavy rainfall from Beryl.
One fatality in Grenada occurred after a tree fell on a house, Kerryne James, the environment minister said.
The storm ripped through Grenada (pictured) and damaged about 98 percent of the buildings on the islands
Three people were reported killed in Grenada and Carriacou (pictured) and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Carriacou and Petit Martinique sustained the greatest damage, with scores of homes and businesses flattened in Carriacou.
Grenada's prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, said Tuesday there was no power, roads are impassable and the possible rise of the death toll 'remains a grim reality.'
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has promised to rebuild the archipelago.
He noted that 90 percent of homes on Union Island were destroyed, and that 'similar levels of devastation' were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan.
The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.
