Hurricane Beryl has now made landfall near Tulum, a popular tourist destination in Mexico, bringing with it hurricane-force winds, storm surge and damaging waves.

In the days before Beryl hit, the Yucatan Peninsula started to prepare for what was to come, after Beryl already killed at least 10 people and brought mass destruction to islands in the Caribbean this week.

Storm shelters were opened, and tourist resorts prepared for the strong winds, as authorities also taped off beaches and thousands of troops were deployed ahead of Beryl.

Beryl’s maximum sustained winds have dropped ever so slightly to 100mphm (160km/h) as the storm moves inland over the Yucatan Peninsula.

The center of the hurricane is expected to cross the northern Yucatan Peninsula today before emerging over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico tonight.

The hurricane is expected to rapidly weaken as it traverses further inland, but will re-intensify once it moves back over the Gulf of Mexico.

The center of Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula, just northeast of the popular Mexcian tourist area of Tulum at around 6.05am EST Friday morning.

Maximum sustained winds are at 110mph (175mph), meaning Beryl currently stays at a strong Category 2 storm.

Mexico’s popular tourist destinations have been put on red alert Thursday night as the Category 2 hurricane moves in after leaving a path of devastation across Caribbean islands.

As Hurricane Beryl is expected to make landfall in the next few hours, Mexico’s top tourist destinations were put on red alert as life-threatening and dangerous weather conditions are due to pass over the area.

A “red alert” called by Mexico’s civil protection agency indicates a threat of maximum hazard from the hurricane, telling people to stay in their homes or at storm shelters, Reuters said.

“Let’s take all measures of prevention and care because the winds and rains will be felt throughout the state. At this time no one should be away from home,” Quintana Roo Governor Maya Lezama said.

Police have taped off beaches in Playa del Carmen, while in Quintana Roo, schools have been shut, and around 120 storm shelters were opened by the defense ministry.

More than 8,600 troops from the army, air force and national guard have been deployed in the Yucatan Peninsula to assist and support as Hurricane Beryl draws near, CNN reports.

The United Nations will put $4 million towards aid efforts in Jamaica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, the BBC reports.

Earlier this week, the UN said officials in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are working closely with local leaders to help with recovery efforts.

“To date, Grenada and St Vincent’s and the Grenadines have reported hundreds of people in shelters,” a UN spokesperson said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked for the international community to “show solidarity” with all the Caribbean countries in Hurricane Beryl’s path, the spokesperson said.

Hurricane Beryl has weakened ever so slightly to a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110mph as it approaches Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

A hurricane needs to sustain at least 111mph to be considered a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, making it a major hurricane.

Despite its category, the National Hurricane Center has warned residents who will be impacted to shelter in place while the “life-threatening conditions” pass through the Yucatan Peninsula today.

There is an expectation of hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rainfall, as well as rip currents that could cause life-threatening beach conditions beginning late today and over the weekend across much of the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Beryl has weakened ever so slightly in its wind speed as is hurtles towards Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, with 110mph maximum sustained winds.

Only 40 miles (65km) east of Tulum in Mexico, Beryl is expected to make landfall in Mexico within the next few hours. The National Hurricane Center warns of storm surge that could raise water levels as much as four to six feet above ground levels along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing with it large and destructive waves.

Throughout today, weather experts predict rainfall totals of four to six inches, with localized amounts of 10 inches in the area, with scattered instances of flash flooding.

Large swells are already impacting portions of the coast of Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and the Yucatan Peninsula, and are expected to reach eastern Mexico and much of the Gulf Coast of the US by late today.

These swells are predicted to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.