Hurricane Melissa Bears Down On Jamaica As Its Strongest Storm In Recorded History

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa grew stronger as it barreled toward Jamaica on Tuesday, becoming the strongest Category 5 storm to hit the island since records began 174 years ago.

Hours before the storm, the Jamaican government warned of catastrophic damage and said it was doing everything it could to prepare. Streets in the capital, Kingston, remained largely empty except for a lone stray dog ​​wading through puddles and a handful of people walking quickly under tree branches, waving in the high wind.

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”

The storm is expected to make landfall on Tuesday and cut diagonally across the island. It is expected to reach Cuba shortly.

Melissa is the fifth most intense Atlantic basin hurricane on record in terms of pressure and the strongest hurricane to make landfall since. Hurricane Dorian in 2019According to hurricane expert and storm surge expert Michael Lowry.

He said this was the worst-case scenario emerging for Jamaica.

While mudslides, downed trees and numerous power outages were reported ahead of the storm, authorities in Jamaica warned that cleanup and damage assessment would be slow. Forecasters expected the storm to hit southern St. You can enter near the Elizabeth neighborhood and reach St. Petersburg in the north. He said he was expected to emerge from around the St. Ann neighborhood.

“Complete structural failure is possible near Melissa’s center,” the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

A life-threatening storm surge of up to 4 meters is expected in southern Jamaica, with authorities worried about the impact on some hospitals along the coastline. Health Minister Christopher Tufton said some patients had been moved from the ground floor to the second floor and “we hope this will be sufficient to accommodate any surge that occurs.”

The storm was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where one person remains missing.

On Tuesday morning, Melissa was located about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, and about 255 miles (410 kilometers) southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba. The system had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and was moving north-northeast at 7 mph (11 km/h), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“We will get through this together,” said Evan Thompson, chief director of Jamaica’s meteorological service.

Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps counselor near Kingston, said most families are sheltering in place even though the government has ordered evacuations in flood-prone communities.

“Many people have never experienced anything like this before, and the uncertainty is scary,” he said. “There is a deep-seated fear of losing their homes and livelihoods, of being injured, and of being displaced.”

Necephor Mghendi, head of the International Red Cross’s regional delegation in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, said an estimated 1.5 million people in the storm’s path would be affected, but many more could be affected.

“The entire population may feel the impact in one way or another,” he said via video link from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

U.N. agencies and dozens of nonprofits had already prepared food, medicine and other essential supplies as they awaited a flurry of distribution in the storm’s wake.

Jamaican Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda said he had more than 50 generators that could be activated after the storm, but warned people to put clean water aside and use it sparingly.

“Every drop counts,” he said.

Melissa was also expected to reach eastern Cuba as a strong hurricane late Tuesday.

A hurricane warning was issued for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, and a tropical storm warning was issued for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain was expected in some parts of Cuba and a significant storm surge along the coast.

Cuban officials said Monday they had evacuated more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.

Melissa also flooded southern parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic; A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Haiti.

The hurricane is expected to turn northeast after Cuba and hit the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday evening.

A hurricane warning was issued for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.