Hurricane Melissa barrels through Caribbean, accelerates towards Bermuda
Satellite images showed trees and homes devastated in the hardest-hit areas of Jamaica, the remaining sparse greenery stripped of its leaves and most structures destroyed.
Energy Minister Daryl Vaz said more than 70% of Jamaica’s customer base was still without power as of Thursday morning due to downed power lines along the island’s highways.
Officials in the capital Kingston said many schools were left without electricity and water.
As of 15:00 GMT, Melissa was carrying winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and had been downgraded from its peak to a Category 2 hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
PASSING BAREFEET IN THE MUD
It is expected to continue accelerating toward the northeast before possibly weakening on Friday and “moving northwest of Bermuda” later Thursday, the Florida-based forecaster said.
Bermuda will close the flyway on Thursday night, all schools and ferries on Friday, and other measures “out of an abundance of caution,” National Security Minister Michael Weeks said in a statement.
“I ask all residents to exercise caution as we tackle another natural threat to our way of life,” he said. He added that people should check on their neighbors and stay off the roads until further notice.
Melissa hit Jamaica on Tuesday as the strongest hurricane ever, hitting directly on its shores with sustained winds of 185 mph, well above the minimum strength for a Category 5, the strongest classification for hurricanes.
“DEMOLITION,” read the front-page headline of Thursday’s Jamaica Observer newspaper.
More than 130 roads remained blocked by trees, debris and power lines, forcing the military to clear paths to isolated areas on foot, with ambulances keeping a close eye on them, officials said.
A road in the hard-hit coastal town of Black River was flooded with more than four feet of sand stretching for a mile, officials said.
In a neighborhood on the island’s Montego Bay, 77-year-old Alfred Hines walked barefoot through thick mud and debris as he described narrowly escaping rising floodwaters.
“At one stage I see the water around my waist and (then) about 10 minutes later I see it around my neck and I run away,” he told Reuters on Wednesday.
“I just want to forget and for everything to go back to normal.”
Densely populated Kingston escaped the worst damage and its main airport was due to reopen on Thursday. Relief flights and aid have begun flowing into the island’s airports, and the capital’s port is scheduled to reopen on Thursday, officials said.
US forecaster AccuWeather has estimated that Melissa could cost $22 billion in damage and economic losses, and rebuilding could take a decade or more.
U.S. search and rescue teams departed for Jamaica on Thursday to assist in recovery efforts and the United States is mobilizing support to countries across the region, Jamaican officials said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio added on Thursday that the Trump administration is ready to provide “immediate humanitarian assistance” to the people of Cuba, a long-time enemy of the United States.
Cuba’s foreign ministry said it was “waiting for clarification on how and in what way they are willing to help.”
EVACUATIONS AND FLOODS
AccuWeather said Melissa was the Caribbean’s third-most intense hurricane on record and was the slowest moving, making it particularly destructive.
The government flew nearly 1,500 people across the Bahamas archipelago as the storm approached in what it called one of the largest evacuation operations.
High winds shook palm trees and swelled waves at a resort near George Town in video released Wednesday.
The storm did not directly affect Haiti, the Caribbean’s most populous country, but dumped days of rain. At least 25 people died, largely due to flooding, in Petit-Goave, a coastal town 64 kilometers west of the capital, where a river overflowed its banks, authorities said.
At least 10 children died and 12 people were missing, Haiti’s disaster management agency said, adding that more than 1,000 homes were flooded across the country and nearly 12,000 people were moved to emergency shelters.
At least 241 communities in Cuba were left isolated and uncommunicative on Wednesday after the storm passed through Santiago province, affecting up to 140,000 residents, according to preliminary media reports. Authorities launched a massive evacuation effort in eastern Cuba, moving 735,000 people to shelters outside the hurricane cone. Tourists in Cuba’s northern keys were also accommodated in hotels in the hinterland.
Cuba reported significant infrastructure and crop damage, but there were no casualties as of midday Thursday.
Scientists say hurricanes are intensifying faster and more frequently as a result of warming ocean waters caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Many Caribbean leaders have called for wealthy, heavily polluting countries to pay compensation in the form of aid or debt relief.
