Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica as forecasters predicted the Category 5 storm was likely to cause “catastrophic” flash flooding, landslides and widespread damage, directly impacting up to 1.5 million people.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center called on Jamaicans to evacuate to “safe locations” on Tuesday as ferocious winds and torrential rain pounded the Caribbean country’s western side after making landfall in the parishes of St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland.
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“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation!” he said in a post to X.
The National Hurricane Center reported maximum sustained wind speeds of 295 km/h (185 mph). Director Michael Brennan said storm surge of 9 to 13 feet is expected and warned people to stay indoors as the eye of the storm passes over the island.
“This will definitely be the storm of the century for Jamaica,” said Anne-Claire Fontan, a cyclone expert at the World Meteorological Organization, adding that rainfall was expected to exceed 70 centimeters (27.5 inches), about twice what is expected in an average rainy season.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie told Al Jazeera that the island nation had done everything possible to protect itself. “We are prepared, but I don’t know if we will be ready for a Category 5 hurricane,” he said, adding that last year’s Hurricane Beryl had already caused “tremendous damage” and killed four people.
Raiska Powell, emergency services manager for the Jamaica Red Cross, told Al Jazeera: “As we approach, we expect stronger winds and more rain, which will cause significant damage to the western part of the country.”
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has warned that at least 1.5 million people in Jamaica alone could experience the effects of Hurricane Melissa.
Robian Williams, a journalist with Kingston-based radio station Nationwide Radio 90FM, told Al Jazeera that the gusts caused “trees to fall and power lines to fall.” “Many of us here are without power and emergency responders are actually out in force to lift the lockdown,” she said.
Approximately 25,000 tourists are currently staying on the island. As we weather the storm, Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s office announced that hotel operators were offering “distress fees” and shelter to stranded people.
Holness said Jamaica has received calls for assistance from the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, France and other Caribbean countries.
Jens Raake, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA, said the priority was “to save as many lives as possible.” “When you have a major flood, one of the biggest issues is water,” he said, warning that “without clean water, there are all kinds of health risks and risks of infectious diseases.”
Jamaica’s South East Regional Health Authority has issued a crocodile alert, warning on Instagram that the large reptiles, displaced by rapidly rising waters in rivers, gorges and wetlands, “may invade residential areas”.
Next destination: Cuba
The extremely ferocious hurricane is moving across the Caribbean Sea, with wind speeds of nearly 300 km/h (185 mph), making it the most powerful tropical cyclone recorded worldwide this year, according to an AFP analysis of US weather data.
It is expected to weaken to a Category 4 storm as it moves east toward Cuba into Wednesday. Evacuation efforts have begun with high hopes, with reports on social media and state television showing buses transporting people to evacuation centers.
Officials said more than 600,000 people were being evacuated from coastal areas, including the island’s second city, Santiago. Authorities in Holguin province in eastern Cuba plan to evacuate more than 200,000 people. A similar number of people from the eastern town of Banez have also been moved to safer locations.
“This phenomenon is extremely dangerous,” Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martinez said in a statement from Banes, where he was in a shelter-like location. “It’s unprecedented.”
Hurricane warnings have been issued for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin, and a tropical storm warning has been issued for Las Tunas.
Forecasters expect up to 51 centimeters (20 inches) of rain to fall in parts of Cuba and significant storm surge along the coast.
Melissa has also flooded southern areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where Haiti remains under a tropical storm warning.
After passing over Cuba, the hurricane is expected to turn northeast and hit the southeastern Bahamas by Wednesday evening.
The storm was plodding along at a pace slower than most people could walk, hovering at 5 km (3 mph), but sped up slightly this morning to 7 km (4 mph).
Meteorologists say this is especially dangerous. “Slow-moving major hurricanes often go down in history as the deadliest and most destructive storms on record,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
“This is a tragic situation unfolding in slow motion.”
