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After Jamaica, ‘Category 4’ hurricane Melissa moving toward Cuba; 7 dead across Caribbean
After making landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, Hurricane Melissa is headed toward Cuba as a Category 4 storm, after which it will head to the Bahamas.
After making landfall in Jamaica as its strongest-ever storm, Hurricane Melissa is moving towards Cuba with the force of a Category 4 storm on Tuesday, with at least seven persons dead across the Caribbean.
According to the US National Hurricane Centre, Melissa struck near Jamaica's southwestern town of New Hope as a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds of up to 185 mph.
Melissa's wind speed was higher than the minimum 157 mph wind speed of a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.
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Hurricane Melissa left a trail of destruction through Jamaica after making landfall, with Prime Minister Andrew Holness declaring the island a "disaster area". Authorities warned residents to remain sheltered amid continued flooding and a risk of landslides.
The scale of damage in Jamaica is not clear yet, as a comprehensive assessment is likely to take days and much of the island did not have power after the landfall.
Hurricane Melissa | Key Points
- 7 dead across Caribbean: At least seven people, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, have lost their lives amid the approaching Category 5 storm, hurricane Melissa. The storm hit Jamaica early on Tuesday. But three people died as trees were being cut down in preparation for Melissa. Two died after trees fell on them, and one was electrocuted.
- Melissa approaching Cuba: After roaring in Jamaica, hurricane Melissa is now forecast to curve to the northeast and move toward Cuba's second-most populous city of Santiago de Cuba. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a message published in state newspaper Granma, "We should already be feeling its main influence this afternoon and evening." He said that there will be a lot of work to do, adding that it is known that the "cyclone will cause significant damage".
- 500k people in Cuba ordered to relocate: Cuban authorities said that some 500,000 people were ordered to move to higher ground. Meanwhile, the government in the Bahamas, which is next in Melissa's path toward the northeast, has ordered evacuations of residents in the southern parts of the archipelago.
- Jamaica's 'storm of the century': While storms and hurricanes are not unknown to Jamaica, a Category 4 or 5 storm has never hit the country before. Ahead of Melissa's arrival, the World Meteorological Organisation's tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire had told a press briefing that the situation is "catastrophic". She had said, "For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure." Similar to 2024's Hurricane Beryl, Melissa crossed over some of Jamaica's most productive agricultural zones.
- 'A roaring lion': Hurricane Melissa made landfall near the parish border between Westmoreland and St Elizabeth in southwestern Jamaica. Local government minister Desmond McKenzie told a press briefing that St Elizabeth was submerged by flooding. Its only public hospital lost power, and reported severe damage to one of its buildings, Reuters reported. He added that several families were known to have been stranded in their homes, while rescue teams managed to reach a group that included four babies. A retiree in Portland Cottage, some 94 miles away from Melissa's landfall spot, spoke to the news agency and described the hurricane, saying, "It's like a roaring lion. It's mad. Really mad."
(with inputs from Reuters, AFP)
