Hurricane ‘Melissa’ continues threatening he Caribbeanwhere countries like Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic suffer the ravages of its passage on Sunday and Jamaica prepares to receive this week powerful category 4 cyclonecon winds sustained from 230 kilometers per houraccording to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) based in the US.
With forecasts of rapid strengthening heading into Jamaica and the Hispaniola Islandwhich can generate heavy rains and flash floods, the Jamaican authorities seek that as many inhabitants as possible take refuge from the “catastrophic floods” that meteorologists have predicted for the Caribbean country.
For him transfer of the residents To the 881 shelters in the country, the Government provided an urban transportation company, although some residents of areas such as Port Royal, on the coast of the capital of Kingston, one of the most prone to flooding, have ignored warnings to seek shelter.
Evacuation in Cuba
The Government of Cuba It is expected that the meteorological phenomenon will touch its territory on Tuesday night and travel from south to north through the country for 12 hours, for which it is seeking the evacuation o protection of 649,487 people in the five eastern provinces of the island, reported the country’s Presidency.
In a meeting of the National Defense Council, President Miguel Díaz-Canel stressed that “the fundamental thing is the protection of the population” and ordered “to evacuate all people who are downstream of the dams, microdams and in everything that is a flood zone.”
For the meteorologist of the Hydrometeorological Unit (UHM) of HaitiWilner Polydor, the hurricane continues to be a threat to the country, where at the moment, at least three people died and 16 were injuredin addition to 10 houses that were affected and 450 homes flooded, according to the most recent balance from the Civil Protection Directorate (DPC).
“In view of the amount of rain that has fallen, there are risks of floods and landslides, as the ground is saturated with water,” Polydor stated during a press conference.
The Dominican Republic, towards normality
For his part, the president of the Dominican RepublicLuis Abinader, called this Sunday to head towards “normality” after several days with a large part of its provinces at red alert levels, in which the working day was suspended.
The Dominican Emergency Operations Center (COE) decided on Monday to reduce the provinces on red alert to four, which are located in the southwest of the country, while another thirteen are on yellow alert and the same number on green.
Until now, ‘Melissa’ caused one death and flooding in Dominican territory, and the COE indicated that there are “735 homes affected, 3,765 people displaced, four shelters activated, with 77 people housed and 48 communities cut off.” According to the NHC, the winds could continue to gain strength and the hurricane could rise to category 5, the strongest. This is the thirteenth tropical storm of the season in the Atlantic, which runs from June to the end of November.
