Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica and moves to the rest of Caribbean

Jamaica’s “Storm of the century”

No stranger to hurricanes, Jamaica had never before been known to take a direct hit from a Category 4 or 5 storm. The Jamaican government called for foreign aid even as it prepared for Melissa’s arrival.

Meteorologists at AccuWeather said Melissa ranked as the third most intense hurricane observed in the Caribbean after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988 – the last major storm to make landfall in Jamaica.

“It’s a catastrophic situation,” the World Meteorological Organization’s tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan told a press briefing. She warned of storm surges up to 4 meters high. “For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure.“

Scientists warn that storms are intensifying faster with greater frequency as a result of warming ocean waters. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries.

Melissa’s size and strength ballooned as it churned over unusually tepid Caribbean waters. Forecasters now warn that its slow movement could prove particularly destructive. Food aid will be critical, Bogle said, as well as tools, vehicle parts and seeds for farmers. Like last year’s devastating Hurricane Beryl, Melissa crossed over some of Jamaica’s most productive agricultural zones.

On Monday, Holness said the government had an emergency budget of $33 million and insurance and credit provisions.

Around 15,000 Jamaicans were in temporary shelters by late Tuesday, McKenzie said. The government had issued mandatory evacuation orders for 28,000 people, but many were reluctant to leave their homes. The International Federation of the Red Cross said up to 1.5 million people in Jamaica were directly affected by the storm.

After Jamaica, Melissa hurts Cuba and possibly the Bahamas

The hurricane was forecast to curve to the northeast on a trajectory toward Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s second-most populous city.

“We should already be feeling its main influence this afternoon and evening,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a message in state newspaper Granma on October 28. He called on citizens to heed evacuation orders. “There will be a lot of work to do. We know that this cyclone will cause significant damage.”