Indian team stuck in Barbados: Airport shut down due to Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl strands Indian cricket team in Barbados: India’s 2024 T20 men’s cricket champion team is likely to be stuck in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl, which has made its way to the Caribbean island nation today, as per a report by IndiaToday.

The publication reported that the Indian men’s cricket team may opt to stay at their hotel as the hurricane’s landfall is expected to be severe. “Barbados airport will shut down, and flights are being cancelled. Even the Indian team will be stuck here till the Hurricane subsides, and the airport resumes. All outbound flights are being cancelled,” IndiaToday reported.

ANI further reported that a curfew was imposed from 6 pm on June 30, and all stores and offices were shut down.

Team, Contingent Stranded

Earlier on June 30, PTI reported that the Rohit Sharma-led team’s travel plans have been impacted as hurricane Beryl advanced and reached maximum sustained winds of 210 kmph.

It report added that with the Category 4 hurricane just 570 km away from the east-southeast of Barbados, the airport in Bridgetown would likely shut in the evening.

The Indian team was supposed to catch an Emirates flight from New York via Dubai, but was considering a charter flight, a source told PTI.

“The team was supposed to leave from here (Bridgetown) to New York and then reach India via Dubai. But now the plan is to get a charter flight straight from here to Delhi. A meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also being considered,” the source said.

The Indian contingent is around 70 members and includes the cricket team, its support staff, families, and officials.

ANI and IndiaToday also reported that the Indian media, who were in the Caribbean to cover the sports tournament, are also stranded due to Hurricane Beryl.

Beryl: Earliest Category 4 hurricane on record

The “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening winds and flash flooding to the Caribbeans on July 1, Reuters reported, citing the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC). This is the first hurricane of the 2024 season, which runs annually from June 1 to November 30.

On June 30, Beryl became the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record, beating Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 on July 8, 2005, according to NHC data.

Hurricane warnings have been issued in Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Tobago. A tropical storm watch has been issued for Dominica, Trinidad, and parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The NHC said the hurricane is expected to bring 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) of rain across Barbados and the Windward Islands throughout July 1 and is expected to cause flash floods in vulnerable areas.

(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)