Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba near the city of Chivirico early Wednesday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. after beating Jamaica as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez said Tuesday evening on social media. that authorities had evacuated 735,000 people.
A hurricane warning was in effect in the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas.
Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it reached Cuba and was moving northeast at 10 mph, according to the NHC. The hurricane was located 20 miles east of Chivirico and about 60 miles west-southwest of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
NOAA/National Hurricane Center
Melissa was it is forecast to cross the island in the morning and will move to the Bahamas later on Wednesday. Continued intense rainfall could cause life-threatening flooding with multiple landslides, US forecasters said. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.
Melissa hit Jamaica on Tuesday with strong, sustained winds of 185 mph.
The storm was expected to produce a storm surge of up to 12 feet across the region and drop up to 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.
“Multiple landslides are likely in these areas,” NHC Director Michael Brennan said.
The hurricane could worsen Cuba's severe economic crisis, which has already led to long power outages and fuel and food shortages.
“There is a lot of work to be done. We know that a lot of damage will be done,” Diaz-Canel said in a televised address in which he assured that “no one will be left behind and no resources will be wasted to protect the lives of the population.”
At the same time, he urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the most powerful ever to strike the national territory.”
Provinces from Guantanamo Bay in the Far East to Camagüey, near the center of elongated Cuba, had already suspended classes on Monday.
Jamaica is going to check the damage done by Melissa
As Cuba braced for the hurricane, officials in Jamaica prepared to disperse Wednesday to assess the damage.
Significant damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in southern Jamaica and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “underwater,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of the Jamaica Disaster Risk Management Council.
The storm also damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients, McKenzie said.
More than half a million customers were without power as of Tuesday evening as officials reported downed trees, power lines and severe flooding across much of the island.
The government said it hopes to reopen all Jamaican airports as early as Thursday to allow for the rapid distribution of emergency supplies.
The storm has already caused seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person is missing.
