Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica with 185mph winds as thousands flee homes
Torrential floodwaters ripped through southwestern Jamaica, with winds ripping roofs off buildings and sending rocks crashing onto roads as the “storm of the century” reached the Caribbean island of 2.8 million people.
Thousands of people were warned to flee to prevent devastating winds, flash floods and landslides from causing major damage.
Following the intensification of Hurricane Melissa, at least seven people have died so far, three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic. One person is missing.
The Miami-based hurricane center warned that “total structural failure” was likely in Melissa’s path.
Minister Desmond McKenzie said the government had ordered 28,000 people to leave their homes and go to shelters, but some were reluctant and only 6,000 people had done so so far. Authorities also called on civilians to evacuate dangerous areas.
The International Federation of Red Cross estimates that 1.5 million people will be affected.
British people in Jamaica have been asked to report their presence to the Foreign Office, which has set up a crisis center for UK citizens. Royal Navy ship HMS Trent is pending in the area.
Brian Trascher, vice president of the Joint Cajun Navy, said “trillions of gallons of water” are expected to drop on the country.
“This is a catastrophic situation,” said Anne-Claire Fontan, a tropical cyclone expert at the World Meteorological Organization. “For Jamaica, this will definitely be the storm of the century.”
Storm waves of up to four meters are expected and rainfall will exceed 2.3 ft, which will lead to catastrophic flash floods and landslides, he said.
As authorities implored residents to seek protection in shelters and fortify their homes, Mr McKenzie warned: “Don’t bet against Melissa, because you’ll lose.”
Jamaican power utility JPS said power outages affected more than a third of its customers but three-quarters lost power in the worst-hit areas.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Melissa made landfall near the town of New Hope, 39 miles south of Montego Bay, where the eye of the storm moved over land, packing maximum sustained winds of 300 kilometers per hour.
Category 5, the strongest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, requires a speed of at least 257 mph.
“The devastation may be unlike anything people in Jamaica have ever seen before,” said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s chief hurricane expert. “The island has never received a direct hit from a Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane in recorded history.”
According to AccuWeather, Melissa is the third most intense hurricane in the Caribbean, after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988.
Its extreme wind speeds mark it as the second strongest hurricane in Atlantic history, along with four other storms.
Moving at a deceptively glacial speed of nearly 3 mph, the tropical storm intensified from a Category 4 to a Category 5 within 24 hours.
After passing eastern Cuba, where intensity was reduced to Category 4 on Wednesday and 500,000 people were ordered to leave their homes, Melissa is expected to move into Bermuda and the Bahamas, where Prime Minister Philip Davis has ordered the evacuation of homes in the southern and eastern regions.
The National Hurricane Center said surrounding areas, including the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, could also experience “life-threatening storm surge” and heavy rainfall.
There are also concerns about the country’s ability to withstand the damage.
“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness said on Tuesday.
The slow pace makes Melissa more deadly; Constant winds and accumulated rainfall are causing maximum damage to the vulnerable and low-lying island. About 70 percent of Jamaica’s population of more than 2.8 million lives in coastal areas.
“Major slow-moving hurricanes often go down as the deadliest and most destructive storms in history,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist. “This is a dire situation unfolding in slow motion.”
Former Miss Jamaica UK Cherelle Mukoko said: Independent He said his uncle was on the island’s central plateau in the middle of the storm. Living in her late parents’ house, a building that had been in the family for generations and “built with love from top to bottom,” she had decided not to evacuate.
“We are in close contact with it and are receiving information about Hurricane Melissa every day,” he said. “Having weathered many major storms in the past, he remains calm and optimistic. He took all possible precautions: windows were boarded up, the property was secured and supplies were stocked.”
“He will not be leaving for the shelter; instead, he will remain in the family home, which has survived many harsh weather conditions. While we in the UK probably feel more anxious, he constantly reassures us and embodies that quiet Jamaican resilience.”
