PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph rides out of hell Hurricane Beryl in Jamaica as the major Category 4 storm heads toward the Caribbean island on Wednesday.
In a video shared on social media around 1 a.m. Wednesday, the “Abbott Elementary” star said it was “very calm” and that the sea looked like glass earlier in the day.
“We had to bring all the patio furniture inside because, you know, those things can fly,” Ralph told the camera.
“I just wanted to say to everybody, please stay inside… stay off the roads in Kingston. I hope you put oil in your lamp and are being extra careful.”
Ralph is married to a Democratic Pennsylvanian Senator Vincent Hugheswho represents parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia County. According to his office, Hughes is currently in Harrisburg finalizing the state budget deal, but “is in regular contact with his wife and family.”
“Pray for us, as you pray for others,” Ralph wrote in her post.
According to the US National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Beryl is “expected to pass near or over Jamaica” Wednesday afternoon before moving near or over the Cayman Islands later tonight or early tomorrow morning. The storm will move over Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on Friday.
NOAA
The storm, which was expected to hit Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane, strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane at times after becoming the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
People living in Philadelphia said their loved ones on the island… concerned about floodingand we have not forgotten the devastation of Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988.
“It was very chaotic,” said John Parboosingh, who moved to Philadelphia 15 years ago but has a brother who lives in Portmore, Jamaica, less than 10 miles from Kingston. “I don’t think I’d ever want to experience another hurricane because of that. The roof was like someone had taken it off on all four sides. I was lying in my bed and it was raining and everything was coming in.”
The airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica, closed at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday night in anticipation of Beryl and will remain closed on July 3. As of Wednesday morning. American Airlines direct flights to and from Montego Bay and Philadelphia International Airport will depart on time on Thursday, July 4.
Ralph plays veteran Philadelphia teacher Barbara Howard in “Abbott Elementary.”
