 "Hurricane Melissa: Jamaica braces for 'strongest' storm of the year")
Hurricane Melissa, dubbed the strongest storm of the year, will make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, with US meteorologists warning of “catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge”.
The recorded wind speeds of the storm are at their maximum strength, 175mph (282km/h), making Hurricane Melissa a category five storm. It has already killed four people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
‘Catastrophic storm’
Meteorologists have warned that Melissa’s slow movement will cause it to unleash torrential rain over affected regions for a prolonged period, heightening the threat of deadly flooding and landslides.
According to the latest data from the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), Melissa currently ranks as the world’s strongest storm this year, based on its maximum wind speeds and low central pressure.
In its most recent public advisory issued at 18:00 GMT on Monday, the NHC cautioned that “catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding, and storm surge” are expected in Jamaica “tonight and early Tuesday.”
NHC deputy director Jamie Rhome said, “This extreme rainfall potential, owing to the slow motion, is going to create a catastrophic event here for Jamaica.”
The Caribbean island-nation is all set to receive 40 inches of rain over the next four days, the agency noted.
‘Will weather this storm’
Jamaican President Andrew Holness, meanwhile, has ordered the immediate evacuation of residents across the island.
In a post on X, he urged “every Jamaican to prepare, stay indoors during the storm, and comply with evacuation orders”.
“We will weather this storm and rebuild stronger,” he added.
Melissa could be the worst hurricane Jamaica has experienced since recordkeeping began – but some residents on the Caribbean island say they will believe it when they see it.
The country’s top officials have urged people on the island of 2.8 million to cooperate with evacuation orders, but some are staying put, even as torrential rains and battering winds begin.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Jamaicans on the whole aren’t the type of people who would just get up and leave their home,” said Jamal Peters, a 34-year-old front manager at a hotel in Port Royal.
“They’d prefer to stay. And if a window blows out or something like that they can be there.”
With inputs from agencies
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