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Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, blowing roofs off buildings and sending rocks falling onto roads. “Storm of the century” The landslide occurred on the Caribbean island with a population of 2.8 million people.
Thousands of people were warned to flee before damaging winds, flash floods and landslides caused catastrophic damage.
at least Seven people have died so far – three inches Jamaicathree in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic – after hurricane Melissa sped up. One person is missing.
The Miami-based hurricane center warned that “complete structural failure” was likely in Melissa’s path.
Minister Desmond McKenzie said the government had ordered 28,000 people to leave their homes and move into shelters, but some were reluctant and only 6,000 had done so so far. Authorities have also urged citizens to evacuate at-risk areas.
The International Federation of the Red Cross estimates that 1.5 million people will be affected.
There have been British people in Jamaica Requested to register his presence at the Foreign OfficeWhich has set up a crisis center for British citizens. Royal Navy ship HMS Trent Is in the area on stand-by. More than 8,000 Britons are in the Caribbean country, forced to stay inside their hotels.
Brian Treasure, vice president of the United Cajun Navy, said “trillions of gallons of water” are expected to fall on the country.
“This is a catastrophic situation,” said Anne-Claire Fontan, a tropical cyclone expert at the World Meteorological Organization. “For Jamaica, this will certainly be the storm of the century.”
Storm surges of up to four meters are expected and rainfall of more than 2.3 feet is expected, which could lead to devastating floods and landslides, he said.
Mr McKenzie warned: “Don’t bet against Melissa, because you will lose,” Mr McKenzie warned, with officials urging residents to seek protection in shelters and fortify their homes.
Jamaican power company JPS said power outages had affected more than a third of its customers, but three-quarters of its worst-hit areas had lost power.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Melissa made landfall near the town of New Hope, 39 miles south of Montego Bay – where the storm’s eye moves – with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
The most powerful level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Category 5, requires a top speed of at least 157 mph.
“This destruction could be unlike anything people in Jamaica have seen before,” said Alex DaSilva, chief hurricane specialist at AccuWeather. “The island has never been directly impacted by a Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane in recorded history.”
According to AccuWeather, Melissa is the third most intense hurricane in the Caribbean, behind Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988.
Its extreme wind speeds mark it as the second-strongest hurricane in Atlantic history, tied with four other hurricanes.
Moving at a deceptively glacial speed of about 3 mph, the tropical storm intensified from a Category 4 to a Category 5 within 24 hours.
After weakening to Category 4 intensity on Wednesday and crossing eastern Cuba, where 500,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes, Melissa is forecast to pass through Bermuda and the Bahamas, where Prime Minister Philip Davis has ordered evacuations of homes in the southern and eastern regions.
The National Hurricane Center said “life-threatening storm surge” and heavy rainfall could also occur in the southeastern and central Bahamas and surrounding areas, including Turks and Caicos.
There are also concerns about the country’s ability to withstand losses.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness acknowledged on Tuesday, “There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5.”
Its slow movement makes Melissa deadly, with sustained winds and accumulated rainfall causing maximum damage to vulnerable and low-lying islands. About 70 percent of Jamaica’s population of more than 2.8 million lives in coastal areas.
“Slow-moving major hurricanes are often recorded as some of the deadliest and most destructive storms in history,” said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather. “This is a serious situation that is unfolding slowly.”
Former Miss Jamaica UK Cheryl Mukoko told Independent His uncle was on the central plateau of the island in the middle of the storm. While living in his late parents’ home, a building that had been in the family for generations and was “built with love from the ground up”, he had decided not to evacuate.
“We are in close contact with them, taking daily updates on Hurricane Melissa,” he said. “He remains calm and optimistic, as he has been through several major hurricanes in the past. He has taken all possible precautions: windows have been boarded up, property has been secured, and supplies have been stocked up.
“He is not going to the shelter; instead, he will remain in the family home, which is standing firm despite several severe weather conditions. While in the UK we perhaps feel more anxious, he constantly reassures us and embodies that cool Jamaican resilience.”