Hurricane Melissa has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm and is forecast to be the worst storm in the Island's history.
The storm is expected to make landfall from Monday into Tuesday, with the worst of the destruction coming up between noon on Monday to noon on Tuesday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) had said earlier that the slow-moving system could strengthen further before making landfall, a warning which has now materialised.
Melissa currently has maximum sustained winds of around 145 mph (230 kph) as it nears Jamaica on Monday night or early Tuesday.
The storm’s centre is forecast to move directly over Jamaica on Tuesday, across southeast Cuba later that night, and reach the southeastern Bahamas by Wednesday.
According to the NHC, the hurricane is expected to dump 15 to 30 inches (38–76 centimetres) of rain across Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, with isolated areas receiving up to 40 inches (one metre). “Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely,” the agency warned.
Mass evacuations and state of emergency in Jamaica
Authorities in Jamaica have urged residents to take the storm seriously and evacuate to the nearly 900 shelters available across the country. Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued mandatory evacuation orders on Sunday night for Port Royal in Kingston and six other vulnerable areas.
“Many of these communities will not survive this flooding,” warned Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government, during a press briefing. “Kingston is low, extremely low ... No community in Kingston is immune from flooding.”
Both of Jamaica’s international airports have been closed, and emergency teams are assisting those reluctant to leave their homes. Despite warnings, some residents have opted to stay put.
“We are riding out the storm, we’re not going to go anywhere. Just sitting down and watch everything, make sure everything’s working good,” said Douglas Butler, a local boat captain in Port Royal.
Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s Information Minister, said the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency was prepared to provide aid, with several international partners pledging immediate support. “We’ve heard the rainfall numbers — they’re numbers we’ve never heard before,” she said.
Record-breaking storm for the island
Melissa could be the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Jamaica in recent history, said Evan Thompson, Principal Director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service. He cautioned that cleanup and recovery efforts could be delayed by landslides, flooding, and blocked roads.
If forecasts hold, Melissa would be Jamaica’s first Category 4 landfall, surpassing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Gilbert, which struck as a Category 3 storm in 1988. Two more recent Category 4 hurricanes, Ivan and Beryl, missed the island without direct landfall.
The NHC said a life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 metres) is expected along Jamaica’s southern coast, particularly near and east of where Melissa’s eye comes ashore.
“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.”
Havoc across Hispaniola and Cuba
The hurricane has already caused widespread destruction in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. At least four people have died, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic while another person remains missing.
In the Dominican Republic, Melissa damaged more than 750 homes and displaced over 3,700 people. Floodwaters have also cut off access to at least 48 communities. Schools and government offices in four provinces remain closed under red alert.
In neighbouring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in several regions, including 15 hectares (37 acres) of maize, exacerbating an already dire food crisis. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that flooding has blocked access to farmland and markets, jeopardising the winter harvest season.
On its current path, Melissa is expected to bring up to 20 inches (51 centimetres) of rain to parts of eastern Cuba, where authorities have issued hurricane warnings for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguín provinces, and tropical storm warnings for Las Tunas.
Evan Thompson of Jamaica’s meteorological service said the storm’s impact could surpass anything the island has experienced in recent memory: “Melissa is not just a test of our preparedness — it’s a test of our resilience.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a deal on Monday in which Türkiye bought 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion),...
India and China have resumed direct commercial flights for the first time in five years, marking a cautious thaw in relations between the two Asian gi...
Armenia’s foreign minister says the presidents of Azerbaijan and Türkiye have been verbally invited to attend the 8th European Political Community ...
Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh has said that Iran and Russia are scheduled to sign a railway agreement next month in Mo...
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has dismissed debate over who benefits more from recent agreements with Azerbaijan, calling the talks a mutu...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a deal on Monday in which Türkiye bought 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion), his office said, deepening the NATO allies' defence ties and bolstering Turkish air defences.
Cameroon's incumbent President Paul Biya, 92 has been announced as the winner of the country's Presidential election amidst allegations of election irregularities.
India and China have resumed direct commercial flights for the first time in five years, marking a cautious thaw in relations between the two Asian giants.
Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh has said that Iran and Russia are scheduled to sign a railway agreement next month in Moscow.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a deal on Monday in which Türkiye bought 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion), his office said, deepening the NATO allies' defence ties and bolstering Turkish air defences.
India and China have resumed direct commercial flights for the first time in five years, marking a cautious thaw in relations between the two Asian giants.
Cameroon's incumbent President Paul Biya, 92 has been announced as the winner of the country's Presidential election amidst allegations of election irregularities.
The UN has appealed for the safe evacuation of civilians trapped in Sudan’s el-Fasher, as paramilitary forces claim to have captured the army’s main base in the city.
When Javier Milei assumed Argentina's presidency on 10 December 2023, the self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist" inherited one of the world's most troubled economies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment