KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa strengthened to Category 5 strength Monday as it approaches Jamaica, dropping up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain and life-threatening storm surge.
Melissa is forecast to make landfall on Tuesday and cross Cuba and the Bahamas until Wednesday.
Melissa was about 130 miles (205 kilometers) south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 315 miles (505 kilometers) south-southwest of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph) and was moving west at 3 mph (6 kph), the center said.
Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (250 km/h). Melissa is the most powerful hurricane in recent history to directly hit the small Caribbean country.
Some areas of eastern Jamaica could get 40 inches (1 meter) of rain, while western Haiti could get 16 inches (40 centimeters), according to the hurricane center. “Castrophic flash flooding and multiple landslides are likely,” the agency warned.
The slow-moving storm killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person was missing.
“I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,” said Desmond McKenzie, vice-chairman of the Jamaica Disaster Risk Management Council. “Don't play with Melissa. It's not a safe bet.”
The hurricane was expected to make landfall again on Tuesday 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.
Record storm for Jamaica
Melissa could be the strongest hurricane Jamaica has experienced in decades, said Evan Thompson, chief director of the Jamaica Weather Service. He warned that cleanup and damage assessments would be seriously delayed by expected landslides, flooding and road closures.
In addition to the rainfall, Melissa will likely produce a life-threatening storm surge on the southern coast of Jamaica, peaking at about 13 feet (4 meters) above ground level, near and east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall, the US center said.
“Don't make stupid decisions,” warned Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's transport minister. “We're going to have some very, very tough times ahead of us in the next few days.”
Hit Hispaniola
The storm has already brought heavy rain in 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, displacing more than 3,760 people. Flood waters also cut off access to at least 48 communities, officials said.
In neighboring Haiti, the 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 experiencing crisis levels of hunger, with 1.9 million of them facing extreme levels 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 was expected to continue to dump heavy rain in southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic in the coming days.
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Country from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
