The Prince and Princess of Wales are understood to be donating privately to Hurricane Beryl relief efforts after the powerful storm tore through islands in the southeast Caribbean.

William and Kate are supporting relief efforts on the islands after six people died in Grenada, Venezuela and St Vincent and the Grenadines as the horror storm tracks through the area commanding 165mph winds. The PA news agency said the couple will also follow the impact “closely” as warnings are issued for a series of areas in the hurricane’s path. A royal source said: “The Prince and Princess of Wales are donating privately to the relief efforts. They continue to follow the impact of Hurricane Beryl closely.”

Warnings are in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Hurricane Beryl was forecast to be near major-hurricane strength when it passed near or over Jamaica early on Wednesday, and near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

The NHC warned in an advisory released today: “Devastating hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves are expected to begin in Jamaica within the next few hours and spread into the Caymwan Islands tonight. Mountainous locations in Jamaica are likely to experience destructive wind gusts.”

The advisory adds that people should also expect “life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” caused by the heavy rainfall in Jamaica and southern Haiti, with damaging winds, storm surges and heavy rainfall over the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize on Thursday night.

A hurricane watch was in effect for Haiti’s southern coast and the Yucatan’s east coast, as Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City. Late on Monday, Beryl became the earliest storm to develop into a Category five hurricane in the Atlantic and peaked at winds of 165mph on Tuesday before weakening to a still-destructive Category four.

On Wednesday, the storm was about 250 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It had top winds of 145mph and was moving west-northwest at 22mph, the centre said. 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. One fatality in Grenada occurred after a tree fell on a house. As it progresses, the NHC adds that it is uncertain about how the hurricane may track, with governments in the Gulf of Mexico, including Texas, advised to monitor Beryl’s progress.

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