KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa reinforced into a Category 5 storm on Monday as it approached Jamaicawhere forecasters expected him to be released catastrophic floodlandslides and widespread damage. At this strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since records began in 1851.
Responsible for six deaths in the northern Caribbean when he was heading towards the islandMelissa was on the go it will make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday before making landfall in Cuba later that day and heading toward the Bahamas. It was not expected to affect the United States.
Anticipating the difficulties ahead for his country, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: “I was on my knees in prayer.”
Hannah McLeod, a 23-year-old hotel receptionist in the Jamaican capital Kingston, said she boarded up the windows of her home where her husband and brother were staying. She stocked up on canned corned beef and mackerel, and left candles and lanterns around the house.
“I just told them to keep the door closed,” she said. “I'm definitely worried. This is actually the first time I've encountered this type of hurricane.”
Category 5 is the highest category. Saffir-Simpson hurricane scalewith sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (250 km/h). According to Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather's chief meteorologist, Melissa will be the strongest hurricane in recorded history to directly hit the small Caribbean country.
Storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) was expected along the coast of Kingston, where Porter said there is critical infrastructure such as Jamaica's main international airport and power plants.
“This could very quickly become a true humanitarian crisis and will likely require significant international support,” Porter said in a telephone interview.
The system has winds of 175 mph.
On Monday afternoon, Melissa was about 145 miles (230 kilometers) southwest of Kingston and about 325 miles (525 kilometers) southwest of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 3 mph (5 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Parts of eastern Jamaica could receive up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain, and western Haiti could receive 16 inches (40 cm), the hurricane center said, citing the potential for “catastrophic flash flooding and multiple landslides.”
Mandatory evacuation ordered in populated areas prone to floods in Jamaica, buses take people to safe haven.
But some insisted on staying.
“I hear what they say, but I don't leave,” said Noel Francis, a 64-year-old fisherman who lives on the beach in the southern town of Old Harbor Bay, where he was born and raised. “I can control myself.”
His neighbor Bruce Dawkins said he also has no plans to leave the house.
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Dawkins, wearing a trench coat and holding a beer. The fisherman said he had already secured his boat and planned to wait out the storm with his friend.
Several towns on Jamaica's south coast have already reported power outages due to increased winds overnight.
“I don't think the storm will damage my house. I'm only worried about flooding because we live close to the sea,” said Hyacinth White, 49, who said she has no plans to evacuate to a shelter.
Storm could be the strongest to hit Jamaica in 174 years
The slow-moving storm killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person was missing. Two people died in Jamaica over the weekend while cutting down trees ahead of a hurricane.
“This is nothing to play with,” said Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda. “The preparation time is almost over.”
More than 50,000 customers were left without power. Before the storm, landslides, downed trees and downed power lines were reported.
In eastern Cuba, a hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain was forecast for parts of Cuba, as well as significant storm surge along the coast.
Cuban officials said they were evacuating more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island's second-largest city. Long bus queues formed in some areas.
Evan Thompson, chief director of the Jamaica Meteorological Service, warned that cleanup and damage assessments would be seriously delayed by expected landslides, flooding and blocked roads.
A Category 4 or higher storm has not made landfall in Jamaica in 174 years of record. Hurricane Gilbert was a Category 3 hurricane when it struck the island in 1988. Hurricanes Ivan and Beryl were Category 4 hurricanes but did not make landfall, Thompson said.
Jamaican government officials said they were concerned that there were fewer than 1,000 people in the more than 880 shelters open across the island.
“This is well below what is required for a Category 5 hurricane,” said Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's transport minister, who urged people to “be smart… If you don't, unfortunately you will pay the consequences.”
Heavy rain in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The storm has already swept through the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed Monday in four of the nine provinces still under red alert.
Melissa damaged more than 750 homes across the country and displaced more than 3,760 people. Flood waters also cut off access to at least 48 communities, officials said.
In neighboring Haiti, a hurricane destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares (37 acres) of corn, while at least 5.7 million people, more than half the country's population, are affected by crisis level of hunger.
“Flooding is hampering access to farmland and markets, threatening harvests and the winter growing season,” the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said.
Melissa is the 13th named storm Atlantic hurricane seasonwhich will last from June 1 to November 30. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.
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Country from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Related report.
John Myers Jr. and Danica Coto, Associated Press
