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Hurricane Melissa, an intense Category 5 storm, threatens to bring damaging winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding and landslides as it passes through the Northern Territory. Caribbean and came close to landslide Jamaica On Tuesday. Melissa was then forecast to cross Cuba and this Bahamas Till Wednesday.
Here are things to know about hurricanes:
A record storm for Jamaica
Melissa was a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level, as it neared landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, where it was believed to be the strongest to strike the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.
It is the fifth most intense atlantic The Basin hurricane is on record for pressure and is the strongest hurricane since Hurricane Dorian in 2019, according to hurricane expert Michael Lowery. “This is the worst-case scenario for Jamaica,” he said.
The US National Hurricane Center warned that conditions were “extremely dangerous” and “life threatening”, and urged Jamaica residents to remain in shelters until the threat to life ceased.
UN agencies and dozens of nonprofits already had food, medicine and other essential supplies on hand as they awaited a rush of distribution after the storm.
Other Caribbean nations at risk
The NHC warned that catastrophic flooding and landslides were also possible in Cuba and Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Cuban authorities said they were evacuating more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.
The NHC warned of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 26 centimeters) of rain with the potential for flash flooding in the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additional rainfall is expected in southern Hispaniola through Wednesday.
Rapid strengthening linked to climate change
Melissa reached tropical storm status last Tuesday and then became a hurricane on Saturday. Melissa then rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on Monday morning.
Climate scientists have linked rising ocean temperatures to storms becoming more intense. Scientists said unusually warm ocean waters, about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal, helped double Hurricane Melissa’s wind speeds in less than 24 hours.
Rapid intensification occurs when a tropical cyclone’s maximum sustained winds increase to at least 30 knots or 35 mph (56 kph). Warmer temperatures also fuel storms to produce more rain.
Scientists said Melissa is the fourth strongest hurricane in the Atlantic this year.
Storms that move so quickly complicate forecasting and make it difficult for government agencies and nonprofits to plan for emergencies.
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