Hurricane Melissa Slams Eastern Cuba After Jamacia Devastating
Hurricane Melissa made landfall early Wednesday in eastern Cuba, near the city of Chivirico, as a powerful Category 3 storm after battering Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated to shelters across Cuba, where a hurricane warning remained in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguín, and Las Tunas.
As of early Wednesday, Melissa packed sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) and was moving northeast at 10 mph (16 kph), according to the NHC in Miami. The storm’s center was located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Chivirico and roughly 60 miles (97 kilometers) west-southwest of Guantánamo.
Forecasters expected Melissa to move across Cuba through the morning before heading into the Bahamas later in the day. Torrential rains were likely to trigger life-threatening flooding and numerous landslides, the NHC warned. A hurricane watch was also in effect for Bermuda.
Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph), producing storm surges up to 12 feet (3.6 meters) and dumping as much as 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.
“Numerous landslides are likely in those areas,” said Michael Brennan, director of the NHC.
Officials warned that the storm could deepen Cuba’s ongoing economic crisis, already marked by widespread power outages, fuel shortages, and food scarcity.
“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be significant damage,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a televised address, assuring citizens that “no one will be left behind and no resources will be spared to protect lives.” He also urged Cubans not to underestimate the strength of Melissa, calling it “the most powerful hurricane ever to strike national territory.”
Classes were suspended as early as Monday from Guantánamo in the far east to Camagüey in central Cuba.
In Jamaica, officials began assessing the extensive damage on Wednesday. Flooding and destruction were reported across Clarendon in the south and the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “under water,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.
Four hospitals were damaged, and one lost power, forcing the evacuation of 75 patients, McKenzie added. More than half a million customers remained without electricity late Tuesday as downed trees, power lines, and flooding affected much of the island.
The Jamaican government said it hoped to reopen all airports by Thursday to expedite the delivery of emergency relief supplies.
At least seven deaths across the Caribbean have been blamed on Melissa so far—three in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic—while another person remains missing.
