The clouds already cover the entire island of Jamaica and the winds are picking up, but the storm has not officially arrived. , category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the maximum possible, has been strengthening throughout the weekend as it slowly moves northeast over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, and it is expected that thanks to those same waters it will still gain more strength in the next 24 hours. With sustained winds of 280 kilometers per hour, the cyclone is already the most powerful in the world this year, it is among the 10 strongest on record historically and is expected to be the largest in the history of Jamaica. It is expected to make landfall in the early morning or dawn of this Tuesday, with the eye projected to pass about 100 kilometers west of the capital Kingston. The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that “the potential for rainfall is extreme” and that “given the slowness of the storm, it will create a catastrophic event in Jamaica.”
The Jamaican Government has ordered the evacuation of vulnerable populations in Kingston, as well as in several other parts of the territory, which has been declared completely “threatened”. “I urge all Jamaicans to prepare, stay home during the storm and comply with evacuation orders. Take care of your neighbors, especially the elderly and vulnerable, and continue to pray for the safety of our nation. We will weather this storm and rebuild stronger,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on Monday. Speaking to CNN, Holness has reinforced his concern, saying that he does not believe that “there is infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5 storm, so there could be significant displacement.”
Even before making landfall, the hurricane has already begun to add victims. The Minister of Health, Christopher Tufton, has assured that the death toll is now three. At least one health worker was crushed by a fallen tree, while 13 other people have been injured.
Likewise, the hurricane had left its mark in Haiti, with a provisional toll of four dead and 15 injured, and also in the Dominican Republic, where one death has been recorded.
As it approaches land, Melissa It is hitting the island of Jamaica, which has a population of 2.8 million people, from several fronts. In addition to the winds that can cut communications by knocking down poles and trees — they already have and at least 50,000 people are without power since mid-Monday — up to 1,000 mm of rain is expected — about half of Jamaica’s average annual rainfall — which could cause flash flooding and river flooding. As if that were not enough, a storm surge of almost four meters is projected for much of the southern part of the country, including Kingston. Faced with this double threat of wind and water, the order is that you can hide from the first, and from the second you have to run to high areas.
The most vulnerable areas, given the rotation of the hurricane’s winds, are those east of the eye of the storm, which includes most of the island. Virtually the entire southern coast of the country expects high swells that, together with the winds, can be extremely destructive.
After passing through Jamaica, the forecast is that Melissa Continue on your way to Cuba between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The NHC issued a hurricane warning on Monday for most of eastern Cuba, including the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguín; and a hurricane warning has also been activated for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas.
The last major hurricane to hit Jamaica was Gilbert in 1988, although it was barely Category 3 when it passed over the island before strengthening and heading towards the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. At that time, the storm destroyed the runway at Kingston International Airport, located in a particularly vulnerable area. It lies on a narrow strip of sand just above sea level, between Kingston Harbor and the Caribbean Sea. Exposed on both sides, when a hurricane moves from the south, the winds push water directly into the port and the storm surge builds up without being able to drain, flooding the runway and nearby roads. This Monday, both the capital’s airport and that of the popular holiday destination, the island’s other international terminal, in the northwest, have been closed until further notice. It is feared that if they suffer serious damage, the arrival of international aid could be complicated.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday that it plans to send personnel, “conditions permitting, to strengthen coordination and preparedness efforts across the region.” “OCHA and its partners are providing support to authorities in the face of potential new impacts,” the office said in a statement. “The World Food Program is providing logistical support, including generators, while UNICEF has provided water and sanitation supplies, as well as child protection materials,” OCHA added.
In some rural areas, school buses have been used to move populations in areas especially vulnerable to flooding and tolls have been suspended throughout the country to avoid traffic jams. However, the strengthening of Melissa has taken the Government a bit by surprise, since its projected course, further west of the island, also changed in recent days. Prime Minister Holness, in an appearance, lamented that residents were arriving at some of the country’s 881 shelters only to find them closed. “We have to reinforce this part of our preparation, ensuring that those responsible for the shelters do not wait for someone to arrive. Once we activate the shelter, it must be open and ready for people to enter, even if no one comes,” he said.
At the Harbor View coastal area near Kingston, Susan Brown spoke to CNN as she watched the ocean waves before the hurricane made landfall. “The people who live down here, when you look at the waves, you can see them rising. They’re not going to turn around. They’re coming straight here.” The order is to evacuate and move to higher ground, but reports of coastal residents staying in their homes to wait out the storm are numerous and worrying.
This afternoon, backhoes were clearing canals and drainage ways to prevent worse flooding in Kingston, but the storm is too close. “It’s not something to be trifled with,” said Matthew Samuda, Minister of Water and Environment. “The preparation time is almost over.”
