Residents of the historic coastal town of Port Royal worked to secure boats and homes on Sunday, 26 October as Hurricane Melissa churned toward Jamaica, bringing fears of flooding and powerful storm surge.
Men hauled fishing boats from the marina and stacked cinder blocks atop roofs, while others fortified windows and doorways with sandbags and wooden planks.
Local police spoke with residents as they made final preparations across the low-lying area once known as the “wickedest city on Earth.”
Despite the warnings, some residents chose to stay put.
“No, I'm here every year now. I don't worry when the hurricane is coming,” said Douglas Butler, a local boat captain.
“I just take things easy. As long as I have my food, I can eat. That is the most important thing.”
Others, like born and raised resident Edgerton Brown, expressed concern about flooding but said the community’s natural reef provides some comfort.
“The water is a concern,” Brown said.
“But we have a great reef out there that protects the shore. In case there’s a surge, the reef will break that water in half.”
Authorities warned of potentially catastrophic flooding and a high storm surge as Hurricane Melissa continues to intensify into a Category 5 system for late Sunday, packing sustained winds of more than 155 miles per hour as it moves closer to Jamaica’s southern coast.
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A Russian guided aerial bomb has struck an apartment building in Kharkiv, injuring 22 people, including children, according to the city’s mayor. The strike follows a day of near-continuous Russian attacks across Ukraine that killed at least five people.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 28 September 2026. These are the top stories making headlines in technology.
British police have arrested five men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act after a major security incident was declared near RAF Fairford, a British air base used by U.S. air forces in Gloucestershire, England.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has arrived in Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on bilateral ties and key regional and international developments, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Crude oil exports from major Middle Eastern producers rebounded in September to their highest level since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
Russian strikes hit Kyiv and Ukraine’s Black Sea region of Odesa overnight into Tuesday, damaging infrastructure and civilian sites, while Moscow said it had also targeted vessels carrying military cargo.
British police are investigating whether individuals linked to a foreign state were involved in an apparent plot targeting RAF Fairford, a British airbase used by the United States, while five suspects arrested in connection with the case are being released on bail.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that more than 8,000 North Korean troops are currently in Russia, with preparations under way to send another 10,000.
Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are warning that gaps in contact tracing and continued deaths outside treatment centres are contributing to a renewed rise in Ebola transmission, as the country’s latest outbreak passes 8,000 confirmed cases.
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