brutal winds y heavy rains whip Jamaica since Monday waiting for Hurricane ‘Melissa’, which could cause “massive” destruction, to make a full impact at noon on Tuesday. So far, it has already caused three deaths on the island.
The storm, which is currently south of the island nation, “will likely turn northward, meaning it could have an impact on our coasts, further towards the western end of Jamaica“said the primer ministro Andrew Holnessin an interview on CNN. “And if that were to happen, I don’t think there is infrastructure in this region that could withstand a storm of category 5so there could be a significant disruption,” he added.
Con winds of 280 kilometers per hour‘Melissa’ reached category 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simson scale. “Destructive winds, storm surges and catastrophic flooding will worsen in Jamaica throughout the day and into the night,” warned the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Its heavy rains combined with intense winds could cause devastation on the scale of historical hurricanes like ‘María’ in 2017 or ‘Katrina’ in 2005.
Despite the evacuation ordersmany Jamaican residents decided to stay.
slow pace
Part of the impact of ‘Melissa’ comes from his slow pace: It moves more slowly than a person walking, at only 5 kilometers per hour or less, which makes it stay longer in each place in its path. The hurricane also threatens the eastern Cubaas well as the southern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos archipelago, a British territory.
In Cubawith difficulties in disseminating preventive information due to the lack of electricity, the authorities are rushing preparations to receive the attacks of ‘Melissa’ on Tuesday.
The National Defense Council declared on Monday the “alarm phase” in the six eastern provinces (Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguín, Camagüey, Granma and Las Tunas).
The authorities began to evacuate at some 650.000 personas in these provinces, where the population gathers provisions and tries to secure the roofs of their homes with ropes. Non-essential classes and work activities were suspended.
Forecasters predict about three feet of rain, flash flooding and landslides in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
