Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 storm, one of the strongest ever to hit the island, and is expected to leave a trail of widespread destruction in its wake. Up to 1.5 million people in Jamaica are expected to be impacted by Hurricane Melissa, with officials warning of extensive devastation along the storm’s path.
As a Category 5 storm, Hurricane Melissa will be sustained with wind speed of 295 kmph. In Jamaica, it entered near St. Elizabeth parish in the south and will exit around St. Ann parish in the north.
At least seven persons have died in the Caribbean due to Hurricane Melissa – three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.
After making a landfall in Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa will head for Cuba. Thousands living in the impact region have been evacuated before the hurricane makes its way there.
Authorities in the eastern Cuban province of Holguín prepared to evacuate more than 200,000 people on Tuesday, in addition to a similar number moved to safety from the town of Banes. Melissa would make landfall in eastern Cuba overnight Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Footage on social media and state television showed blue-and-white buses transporting evacuees to shelters. Families held tight to babies and bundles of belongings, while elderly passengers, some leaning on canes, carefully made their way off the buses.
Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez said, “This phenomenon is very dangerous. It is unprecedented.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, “There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5. The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”
“It is going to be a very dangerous scenario,” said Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Center in Miami, warning that there would be “total building failures.”
The highest mountains in Jamaica could also see winds gusting up up to 321 kmph. Michael Brennan said, “It’s just a catastrophic situation playing out here for Jamaica.”
Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, has urged people to move to shelters or stay indoors to stay safe during the Category 5 storm.
“Jamaica this is not the time to be brave,” local government minister Desmond McKenzie told a briefing.
(With inputs from agencies)
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