Jamaica braces for world’s strongest hurricane of the year

Credit: CSU/CIRA, NOAA & Windy.com

Jamaica has ordered the evacuation of its capital as it braces for what is thought to become the most “catastrophic” hurricane in the island’s history.

The Category 5 storm, which is set to make landfall on Tuesday, has increased in strength as it heads towards the Caribbean nation, threatening torrential rains, deadly floods and destructive winds of up to 175mph.

Hurricane Melissa is the most powerful storm globally so far this year and one of the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic.

At least three people have died and 13 have been injured in Jamaica preparing for the hurricane, the Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton said on Monday night.

All three deaths occurred whilst cutting down trees. Two people died after trees fell on top of them and one person was electrocuted, the minister said.

The hurricane has also killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

Hurricane Melissa’s centre is forecast to move over Jamaica on Tuesday, dumping up to a metre of rain in some parts, before striking south-east Cuba on Tuesday night and the Bahamas on Wednesday.

On Monday, Jamaica’s government ordered the evacuation of seven low-lying cities and towns, including Kingston and Port Royal.

Andrew Holness, the Jamaican prime minister, said: “I have been on my knees in prayer.”

Mr Holness told CNN that should the hurricane make landfall, recovery efforts will take “far more resources then Jamaica has to recover” and that he anticipates “major damage to our road infrastructure, bridges, drains, and possible some damage to ports and airports”.

The US National Hurricane Center said the storm was rapidly intensifying on Sunday night and told Jamaicans to “seek shelter now”, warning of “catastrophic and life-threatening” flash floods, landslides and storm surges.

Melissa was upgraded to Category 5 on Monday, the highest on the scale, and is set to be the strongest hurricane Jamaica, home to 2.8 million people, has experienced in decades, causing billions in damage and destruction.

‘Do not gamble with Melissa’

“I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,” said Desmond McKenzie, the deputy chairman of the island’s Disaster Risk Management Council. “Do not gamble with Melissa. It’s not a safe bet.”

“Many of these communities will not survive this flooding,” he told a news conference. “Kingston is low, extremely low… No community in Kingston is immune from flooding.”

In Kingston, residents spent the weekend attempting to fortify their houses, buying sandbags and preparing to move to shelters further in-land.

“Don’t make foolish decisions,” warned Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s transport minister. “We are in a very, very serious time over the next few days.”

Jamaican authorities were concerned that residents were shunning hurricane shelters, noting there were fewer than 1,000 people in the island’s 880 shelters.

“It’s way, way below what is required for a Category 5 hurricane,” said Daryl Vaz, the Jamaican transport minister.

“If you are not [smart], unfortunately, you will pay the consequences,” he warned.

Experts warn the storm is a worst-case scenario as Melissa’s slow crawl through the region will subject places in its path to longer stretches of rain, winds and heightened storm surge.

Melissa is likely to cause a life-threatening storm surge on Jamaica’s southern coast, peaking around 13ft (4 meters) above ground level, near to where the centre of Melissa makes landfall.

The Foreign Office has urged British nationals to head to their nearest hurricane shelter, amid news that Melissa had become the most powerful storm of the year.

Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said she had spoken to her Jamaican counterpart, Kamina Smith, to “offer our support” and was monitoring the path of the hurricane.

The US embassy in Jamaica has advised US citizens to be ready to shelter in place throughout the “dangerous storm”.

Evan Thompson, the principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service, warned that clean-up and damage assessment would be severely delayed because of anticipated landslides, flooding and blocked roads.

Towns and cities may be left without power and communications for days after the storm passes.

Melissa has already wreaked havoc on the Dominican Republic, where it damaged more than 750 homes across the country, displacing more than 3,760 people.

Floodwaters also have cut access to at least 48 communities, officials said.

Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, warned Jamaica could be confronted with a “true humanitarian crisis very quickly”.

“There is likely going to be the need for a lot of international support,” he added.

In neighbouring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in three regions at a time when 5.7 million people, more than half of the country’s population, is experiencing crisis levels of hunger.

“Flooding is obstructing access to farmland and markets, jeopardising harvests and the winter agricultural season,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Melissa was expected to keep dumping torrential rain over southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic in the coming days.

The hurricane is unlikely to affect the US, however its Navy ordered the evacuation of all non-essential staff from its Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba over the weekend.

The US has a large naval presence close to the Caribbean as the Trump administration wages war against drug traffickers, striking suspected narco ships off the coast of Venezuela.