Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as the strongest hurricane this year. Landslides, floods and power outages have already affected hundreds of thousands of residents.
Hurricane Melissa has already claimed three lives in Jamaica. As the strongest storm of the year so far, the island should fully hit during Tuesday, and huge material damage is expected. TASR informs about it according to the BBC, Sky News and the AP agency.
As a top Category 5 hurricane, Melissa may be the strongest storm to hit Jamaica since records began 174 years ago. Early Tuesday morning, it was about 180 kilometers from the capital Kingston. Wind speeds reach up to 282 kilometers per hour, and the country has already reported several landslides, fallen trees and power outages affecting tens of thousands of people.
Precipitation and floods
“This is a scary situation for Jamaica,” said Water, Environment and Climate Change Minister Matthew Samuda. Up to 102 centimeters of rain could fall within hours, triggering widespread flash flooding.
Residents of the island state have been preparing for the arrival of the hurricane for several days, and the government has ordered mandatory evacuation in several areas.
According to AFP, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) estimated on Tuesday that the hurricane could affect 1.5 million people in Jamaica.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed concern on Monday evening that the approaching hurricane could devastate the west of the island. Jamaican authorities have warned that cleanup and damage assessment will be slow.
According to Sky News, Hurricane Melissa has already surpassed Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to become the seventh strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean.
