Jamaica is bracing for the strongest storm of the year, with US meteorologists warning of “catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge”.
With wind speeds of up to 175mph (282km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a category five storm - the maximum strength. It is expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island in the early hours of Tuesday.
The storm has already been blamed for the deaths of four people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Meteorologists warn that Melissa’s slow pace means it is set to dump torrential rain on affected areas for longer, increasing the risk of deadly flooding and landslides.
The latest data from the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows that in terms of maximum wind and low central pressure Melissa is the world’s strongest storm so far this year.
In its latest public advisory update at 18:00 GMT on Monday, the NHC warned that “catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge” were expected in Jamaica “tonight and early Tuesday”.
It said Melissa was currently about 145 miles (233km) south-west of the capital Kingston. It was moving “west-north-west” at just 3mph (6 km/h).
“This extreme rainfall potential, owing to the slow motion, is going to create a catastrophic event here for Jamaica,” said NHC deputy director Jamie Rhome.
The NHC also said 40 inches of rain (100cm) was possible in parts of Jamaica over the next four days.
The Jamaican government has ordered evacuations for parts of Kingston, and the entire island has been classed as “threatened”.
In a BBC interview, Jamaican Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon warned of an impending storm “the likes of which we have never seen”.
“We’ve been having rain all of October. So the ground is already very saturated. And then to take that much rain means we’re going to have flooding, extensive flooding and landslides in the mountainous areas,” she told BBC Newshour.
The minister added: “We have 881 shelters. We have activated all our shelters. All of them are free.’’
Evadney Campbell, a Londoner currently visiting her family on Jamaica’s north coast, told the BBC: “The house that I am in is hurricane proof. It is built with blocks and steel from top to bottom and is filled with concrete.
“We’re checking on neighbours to see if they are OK.
“I am worried about people who live on the lowlands in parts of the south-east. Many do not want to leave their homes as they are worried about looting their houses,” Ms Campbell said.
Damian Anderson, a 47-year-old teacher from the mountainous town of Hagley Gap in the south-east, said impassable roads had already cut off his community.
“We can’t move. We’re scared,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has ordered the immediate evacuation of several vulnerable communities across the island.
In a post on X, he urged “every Jamaican to prepare, stay indoors during the storm, and comply with evacuation orders”.
“We will weather this storm and rebuild stronger,” he wrote.
Officials also urged residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to seek shelter in safer areas.
In some rural areas, school buses were used to ferry vulnerable people to shelters and across the country. Toll booths have been opened to avoid any queues from forming.
At least three people are known to have died and hundreds of homes have been flooded in Haiti as Melissa brought torrential rainfall to the island of Hispaniola.
In the Dominican Republic, located on the eastern side of Hispaniola, one person also died.
Local media identified the victim as a 79-year-old man who had been swept away by floodwaters in the capital, Santo Domingo.
A 13-year-old has also been reported missing after being dragged away by strong currents as he was swimming in the sea.
Several people were rescued after being trapped in their cars by the rising floodwater.
Source: BBC
- Agencies
