 "Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica as record-breaking Category 5 storm")
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category five hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.
It was one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin, the NHC added.
According to a CNN report, Hurricane Melissa made landfall around 1 pm ET Tuesday near New Hope, Jamaica.
With sustained winds of 185 mph, Melissa became the strongest hurricane ever recorded to strike Jamaica and one of the most powerful storms to make landfall in the Atlantic basin, added the report.
It ties the record with Hurricane Dorian (2019) and the Labor Day Hurricane (1935) — both of which reached the same peak intensity.
Melissa is the strongest Atlantic landfalling storm since Dorian, which devastated the Bahamas’ Abaco Islands in 2019 with similar wind speeds. The last major hurricane to strike Jamaica with comparable force was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, a Category 4 system that caused widespread destruction near Kingston.
The storm is expected to move directly over Jamaica for several hours, unleashing catastrophic winds, torrential rain, and life-threatening storm surge. The hurricane’s center is currently moving north-northeast at 9 mph, the NHC said.
Authorities have urged residents to remain indoors and avoid coastal areas as emergency teams respond to widespread power outages and severe flooding.
With inputs from agencies
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