The storm has already caused at least seven deaths in the Caribbean
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts that Hurricane Melissa will soon hit the southern coast of Cuba as a category 3 hurricane and of an “extremely dangerous” nature, with winds of 205 kilometers per hour.
The storm has fluctuated between categories 3.4 and 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, in recent days.
Regarding the trajectory, Melissa moves over eastern Cuba until this morning, to continue passing through the southeast or central Bahamas later today.
Bermuda is expected to be hit on Thursday night, according to the latest NHC report, which also states that the center of the hurricane is moving at 16 kilometers per hour.
In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sustained winds of 61 kilometers per hour (km/h) and a gust of 111 km/h were recently recorded.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas, and residents are advised to immediately seek safe shelter.
The southeast and central Bahamas and Bermuda are also on alert, where the population has been asked to organize themselves urgently to protect lives and property.
While these countries prepare for the storm, authorities in Jamaica are evaluating the outcome of Melissa’s passage.
Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in southern Jamaica and St. Elizabeth Parish in the southwest, which “was submerged,” said Jamaica Disaster Risk Management Council vice-president Desmond McKenzie.
The storm also damaged four hospitals and left one without electricity, forcing authorities to evacuate 75 patients, McKenzie noted.
More than half a million customers were without power late Tuesday, as authorities reported that most of the island suffered from fallen trees and power outages, as well as extensive flooding.
The Government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure the rapid distribution of emergency supplies.
The storm has already caused at least seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic. One person remains missing.
