Sheryl Lee Ralph has a request for her fans: “Pray for us as you pray for others.”
The “Abbott Elementary” star on Tuesday asked her social media followers for their support as she prepares to weather Hurricane Beryl, the dangerous and extremely powerful storm that has been battering Caribbean islands since making landfall in Grenada on Monday. The Emmy winner shared her perspective on the calm before the storm in a minute-long video shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night. Anticipating an earlier-than-expected landfall, Ralph said, “It’s very calm here in Jamaica.”
“The sky is so beautiful and clear, they said the sea looked like glass today,” he said. “Anyway, I’m facing southeast and we have to watch all the furniture outside because, as you know, that stuff goes flying away.”
The “Moesha” and “Sister Act 2” actress is in Kingston, Jamaica, for her son Etienne Maurice’s wedding to ABC News producer Stephanie Wash. In an Instagram Story shared Tuesday, Etienne (who Ralph shares with ex-husband Eric Maurice) said she was optimistic that Hurricane Beryl wouldn’t be “as bad as people think.” She also noted that some guests opted to cancel their trips to her Saturday wedding.
“#HappilyMauriced is still going strong,” Etienne said on his story before adding, “I leave it in God’s hands.”
Hurricane Beryl has killed at least six people and is expected to begin weakening Tuesday but still remain near major hurricane status when it passes near or over Jamaica on Wednesday, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. As of mid-morning Wednesday, Hurricane Beryl was still headed toward Jamaica.
“We are very concerned about a wide range of life-threatening impacts in Jamaica,” including storm surge, high winds and flash flooding, said Jon Porter, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist, who called Beryl “the strongest and most dangerous hurricane threat Jamaica has faced in probably decades.”
In a public address Monday night, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged islanders to “take the hurricane as a serious threat,” but also told them that “this is not the time to panic.”
Ralph urged people to “please say don’t leave your house” before adding that Jamaica will be under a curfew starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday. He also encouraged islanders to “stay off the streets in Kingston” and to make sure they prepare resources to wait out the storm.
“So to everyone here on the island, we remind you that Gilbert was a [Category] 3 and Beryl is a 4, wow! God bless you, good night. Turn on your lights! the video ended.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
