Photo: AFP
Jamaica is bracing for what could be its worst hurricane in recorded history, per USA Today.
As of Monday (October 27) at 11 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 5 storm, was barreling toward Kingston, bringing with it 165 mph winds and torrential rain. The storm is forecast to make landfall on Jamaica's southern coast on Tuesday (October 28) before moving toward Cuba and the Bahamas.
Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified over the weekend as it was fueled by the warm waters of the Caribbean. Forecasters warned it could strengthen even more before landfall.
The NHC said Hurricane Melissa is set to unleash up to 40 inches of rain in some areas and bring storm surge exceeding 10 feet, threatening catastrophic flooding and landslides across Jamaica.
“Do not venture out of your safe shelter,” the hurricane center warned. “Catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely today through Tuesday.”
Authorities have evacuated parts of Kingston, closed airports, and opened more than 800 emergency shelters nationwide. Tourists and residents along the coast were urged to move inland.
“Many of these communities will not survive this flooding,” Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s minister of local government, said during a news conference on Monday.
Hurricane Melissa has already caused devastation across the Caribbean. Officials in Haiti have reported at least three deaths, while the storm flooded parts of the Dominican Republic, damaging more than 100 homes and disrupting water service in several areas.
Forecasters said Hispaniola could see up to 30 inches of rain, while eastern Cuba may receive as much as 20 inches, with 9-foot waves battering coastal areas.
Evacuations began over the weekend at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay. The Navy moved non-mission-essential personnel and families off the base to Pensacola, Florida.
No Category 5 hurricane has ever made landfall in Jamaica in the historical record dating back to 1851. The island’s strongest storm came in 1988 with Hurricane Gilbert, a Category 4 that hit with winds of 130 mph.
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