Hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, and storm surges are battering sections of Jamaica as the outer bands of Hurricane Beryl impacted the island.

At 4:00 PM, the centre of Hurricane Beryl was located about 40 kilometres south of Alligator Pond, or 117 kilometres east-southeast of Negril point.

The Met service says Beryl continues to move toward the west-northwest near 31 kilometres per hour.

Its centre is expected to continue moving adjacent to the southern coastline of Jamaica this afternoon before moving away from the island during the evening. 

The hurricane’s maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 220 kilometres per hour, but Beryl remains a category 4 hurricane. 

Further weakening is forecast during the next day or two as beryl nears the Cayman Islands tonight or early Thursday.

Meantime, rainfall associated with the core of the hurricane will continue to spread across Jamaica for another several hours.

The Met service continues to monitor the progress of hurricane beryl and will issue its next bulletin on this system at 8:00 PM today.