HURRICANE Beryl was set to rip into Jamaica today, with islanders scrambling to make preparations from the powerful category four storm.

Beryl has already caused the deaths of six people in the south-east Caribbean and caused significant damage.

“I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a public address on Tuesday. “It is, however, not a time to panic.”

US National Hurricane Centre director Michael Brennan warned that Jamaica appeared to be in Beryl’s direct path. 

He urged residents to find a safe place to shelter and stay there throughout today.

“We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we are expecting the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island,” he said.

Storm surges of six to nine feet above typical tide levels are likely in Jamaica, along with heavy rainfall.

Hurricane warnings were also in place for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, plus a hurricane watch for Haiti’s southern coast and the Yucatan’s east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City.

Beryl peaked at winds of 165mph on Tuesday after becoming the earliest Atlantic storm to develop into a category five hurricane.