3 hours ago
2
'Many communities will not survive the flooding,' official says as Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica
My colleagues Natricia Duncan and Anthony Lugg have some details about the advice officials are giving to residents in Jamaica in anticipation of Melissa and explain why this hurricane is expected to be so powerful. Here is an extract from their story, which was written with the help of news agency reporting:
During a press conference in Kingston on Sunday, Jamaican authorities said both international airports were closed and 881 shelters had been activated.
“Many of these communities will not survive the flooding,” said Desmond McKenzie, the minister of local government. “Kingston is extremely low. No community in Kingston is immune.”
Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, later ordered mandatory evacuation orders for Port Royal in Kingston and six other vulnerable areas across the country including Old Harbour Bay …
The combination of rapid intensification and snail-paced advancement is a recipe for a catastrophic, record-breaking natural disaster, experts said.
In its increasingly grim updates, the hurricane centre warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
After passing over Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa is expected to move north and cross over eastern Cuba tomorrow evening, before heading across the south-eastern Bahamas on Wednesday.
Melissa could be the strongest hurricane Jamaica has experienced in decades, said Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service.
He warned that cleanup and damage assessment would be severely delayed because of anticipated landslides, flooding and blocked roads.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which typically runs from June to November.
'Many communities will not survive the flooding,' official says as Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica
My colleagues Natricia Duncan and Anthony Lugg have some details about the advice officials are giving to residents in Jamaica in anticipation of Melissa and explain why this hurricane is expected to be so powerful. Here is an extract from their story, which was written with the help of news agency reporting:
During a press conference in Kingston on Sunday, Jamaican authorities said both international airports were closed and 881 shelters had been activated.
“Many of these communities will not survive the flooding,” said Desmond McKenzie, the minister of local government. “Kingston is extremely low. No community in Kingston is immune.”
Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, later ordered mandatory evacuation orders for Port Royal in Kingston and six other vulnerable areas across the country including Old Harbour Bay …
The combination of rapid intensification and snail-paced advancement is a recipe for a catastrophic, record-breaking natural disaster, experts said.
In its increasingly grim updates, the hurricane centre warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.
The slow-moving storm has already killed at least three people in Haiti and one person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
Hurricane Melissa strengthens to category 5 as it moves towards Jamaica
Hurricane Melissa has intensified to a Category 5 storm as it nears Jamaica, bringing the potential of life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.
A category five hurricane is the strongest type, with winds of at least 157mph.
On Monday, the US National Hurricane Center reported that the hurricane is expected to make landfall on the island on Tuesday, bringing destructive winds and up to 30 inches of rain.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Melissa was then expected to reach Cuba on Tuesday night and head across the south-eastern Bahamas on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, the Cuban government issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin.
The hurricane centre urged Jamaicans to seek shelter immediately, with its deputy director warning: “Conditions [in Jamaica] are going to go down rapidly today. Be ready to ride this out for several days.”
The government later ordered mandatory evacuation orders for Port Royal in Kingston and six other vulnerable areas across the island including Old Harbour Bay.
Melissa was expected to drop up to 30 inches (76cm) of rain on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola – Haiti and the Dominican Republic – according to the hurricane centre.
Some areas may see as much as 40 inches (1 metre). Extensive damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages could be expected.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.
