Hurricane Melissa is expected to bring catastrophic flooding, landslides, and storm surges to the Carribbean as it approaches Jamaica and Cuba
A powerful hurricane approaching Jamaica and Cuba has intensified and could reach Category 5 — the highest level — by the time it makes landfall either this evening or early Tuesday, forecasters have warned.
According to the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC), hurricane Melissa is expected to bring catastrophic flooding, landslides, and storm surges to the region. Jamaican authorities have urged residents to evacuate to one of the 900 shelters established across the island.
On Sunday night, Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued mandatory evacuation orders for Port Royal in Kingston, as well as six other areas.
Storm Melissa currently has maximum sustained winds of up to 140mph (220kph) and is expected to strengthen further as it approaches Jamaica.
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Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government, said: “Many of these communities will not survive this flooding. Kingston is low, extremely low… No community in Kingston is immune from flooding.”
Both international airports are now closed.
The slow-moving storm has already claimed at least three lives in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
The NHC reported that Melissa could bring between 38cm (15 inches) and 76cm (30 inches) of rain to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, with localised totals exceeding one meter (40 inches).
Eastern Cuba is expected to receive between 25cm (10 inches) and 38cm (15 inches) of rainfall, with local amounts up to 51cm (20 inches).
Officials are warning of widespread damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages, and the isolation of several communities in Jamaica.
Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s Information Minister, said that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency is prepared to assist, and several international partners have already pledged their support.
“We’ve heard the rainfall numbers. They’re numbers we’ve never heard before,” she said.
Highlighting what we can expect from the coming days, as reported by The Independent, Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, stated: “People across Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica need to prepare for the increasing threat of torrential rainfall, flash flooding, power outages, and roads being washed out. The impacts from Melissa could be catastrophic.”
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