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Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled into roads Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa came ashore as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.
Desmond McKenzie, deputy chair of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, urged people to seek shelter and stay indoors as the storm crosses the island. “Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave,” he said.
The storm was expected to slice diagonally across the island, entering near St. Elizabeth Parish in the south and exiting around St. Ann Parish in the north, forecasters said. Shortly thereafter, Melissa is expected to hit Cuba.
The system had maximum sustained winds of 295 km/h and was moving north-northeast at 15 km/h, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A U.S. Air Force pilot, part of the reserve ‘Hurricane Hunters,’ flew into the eye of Hurricane Melissa on Monday as it approached Jamaica.
Massive wind damage is expected in Melissa’s core and Jamaica’s highest mountains could see gusts of up to 322 km/h, said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
“It’s going to be a very dangerous scenario,” he said, warning that there would be “total building failures.”
Melissa is the fifth most intense Atlantic basin hurricane on record by pressure, according to hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry.
‘The uncertainty is frightening’
Hours before the storm, the Jamaican government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage.
“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.”
Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were reported ahead of the storm, with officials in Jamaica cautioning that the cleanup and damage assessment would be slow.
A life-threatening storm surge of up to four metres is expected across southern Jamaica, with officials concerned about the impact on some hospitals along the coastline. Health Minister Christopher Tufton said some patients were being moved up from ground floors where possible.
The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
“We will get through it together,” said Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service.
Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps advisor based near Kingston, said most families are sheltering in place despite the government ordering evacuations in flood-prone communities.
“Many have never experienced anything like this before, and the uncertainty is frightening,” he said. “There is profound fear of losing homes and livelihoods, of injury, and of displacement.”
Jamaica’s deadliest hurricane in modern times was Gilbert in 1988. That hurricane killed 318 people overall across several countries, with 45 deaths in Jamaica.
Last year, four deaths and $995 million US in damages was attributed to the effects of Hurricane Beryl. That storm, a rare category 5 Atlantic hurricane for the month of July, did not make landfall on the island.
Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s water and environment minister, said he had more than 50 generators available to deploy after the storm, but warned people to set aside clean water and use it sparingly.
“Every drop will count,” he said.
Up to 50 cm of rain possible for parts of Cuba
Melissa also was expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba late Tuesday as a powerful hurricane.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 51 centimetres of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.
Cuban officials said Monday that they were evacuating more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.
Melissa also has drenched the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a tropical storm warning still in effect for Haiti.
The hurricane was forecast to turn northeast after Cuba and strike the southeast Bahamas by Wednesday evening.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
