As Jamaica prepares for Tropical Storm Melissa, it’s feared this ‘catastrophic’ storm could well be worse than tragic Storm Gilbert, which devastated the island country back in 1988
Tropical Storm Melissa is continuing to intensify as we enter the weekend.
Experts feared Melissa could well be on track to become the most ferocious hurricane ever seen in Jamaica. Having first formed in the southern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, October 21, Melissa is now “meandering” its way towards Jamaica, where it’s feared the impact could well be “catastrophic”.
Taking to the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, tropical cyclone analyst and hurricane historian Michael Ferragamo warned: “A meandering track near/over the island, producing days of rain, wind, and surge. It’ll easily be the island’s biggest impact in several years.”
Driving home the potential severity of the situation, Ferragamo asserted: “It’s not an exaggeration saying #MELISSA could be worse than GILBERT 1988.”
With fearsome winds of 115kts (130mph), Gilbert was, in Ferragamo’s words, “Jamaica’s strongest hurricane on record”. And it took a devastating toll on the beautiful island nation.
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One of the biggest tropical cyclones ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, Gilbert first made landfall near the vibrant capital city of Kingston at around 1 pm EDT on September 12, 1988, barrelling in with wind speeds of 115kts (130mph).
There were 45 confirmed deaths in Jamaica, out of a reported total of 318 across Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the United States, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. This tragic death toll was considered surprisingly low considering the nightmarish power of the storm, with the eye of the hurricane passing directly over Jamaica.
Hurricane winds raged for approximately 10 to 12 hours, as per the University of the West Indies, with roofs blown off 80 per cent of the nation’s 500,000 houses. Sadly, 100,000 of these could not be repaired, while hundreds of people were left homeless.
In the long term, Gilbert took a serious toll on Jamaica’s economy, with the banana industry losing some 400 million in export earnings as domestic food crop losses brought the nation to its knees. Then Prime Minister Edward Seaga estimated damage at 5,500 million JMD (UD 1,000 million), while UNDRO (1988) estimated damage to exceed 800 million USD.
With fears that Jamaica could become the epicentre of a new storm, Melissa, officials yesterday (October 23) urged citizens to remain vigilant, as preparations got underway.
As reported by CNN Weather, Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness, has confirmed that the country’s public hospitals are all set to enter “emergency mode”, with outpatient and elective procedures paused to free up more beds for emergencies.
Meanwhile, while Jamaica’s airports remain open at the time of writing, these will likely close within 24 hours of a hurricane warning being issued, as per Daryl Vaz, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport.
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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