More than 800 shelters have been opened across the island, but only 133 are currently being used, said Tannecia Stephenson, professor of climate science and vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies.
“There is some movement to access these facilities,” Stephenson told Brian Abel of CNN. “But right now, the turnout is not as high as one might hope. We hope it’s because people have prepared and feel they are more prepared to weather this storm.”
Stephenson reports that he can hear the. “We can hear the winds; they come in waves. There are times when we have a calm, but then the rains increase,” he added. “It’s a slow movement. More than anything else. And the damage it can cause raises some concern.”
The speed of the storm, the professor noted, is increasing the risk of flooding and mudslides as heavy rains continue to accumulate.
While the government has outlined recovery plans, including alternative power for water pumping stations and additional repair crews from the Jamaica Public Service, Stephenson says the .
“We have been waiting for several days for this storm to arrive,” she added. “There’s that anxiety… but we’re hoping for the best.”
Understand the strength of Hurricane Melissa
Strongest storm on the planet this year: Melissa underwent an extremely rapid intensification, strengthening to a rare category 5, with winds of 280 km/h and stronger gusts, making it the strongest storm on the planet this year.
Worst storm to hit Jamaica: The island nation has not been directly hit by a hurricane in more than a decade and never by one in recorded history.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for vulnerable coastal areas of Jamaica ahead of Melissa’s arrival on the country’s coast, scheduled for Tuesday morning (28).
Preparations for impact: The hurricane threatens to devastate Jamaica’s infrastructure and isolate communities on the island.
The US National Hurricane Center warns of landslides, “catastrophic flash flooding” and winds that “could cause total structural failure”. Melissa has already killed seven people before it even reached the continent, three in Haiti and Jamaica, and one in the Dominican Republic.
