Jamaicans were braced for destruction on Tuesday night local time as Hurricane Melissa made landfall, bringing storm surges, flash floods and landslides in what is expected to be the worst storm to hit the Caribbean island this century.
The destructive storm struck with ferocious sustained winds of 300kph as it made its way across the region.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” warned the US National Hurricane Centre, urging residents to stay in shelters and as far from windows as possible, including in the brief calm offered by the storm's eye.
The Miami-based centre warned that “total structural failure” was likely in Melissa's path.
Even as wind speeds dipped and the storm became a category four, Melissa drenched communities and wreaked damage that may take days to assess as communication links remained largely down.
Surges in seawater combined with rainfall could cause huge floods and landslides on the island, which has a population of 2.8 million.
Three people were killed in storm-related incidents in Jamaica before the storm's arrival.
“Don't bet against Melissa because you will lose,” warned Jamaican Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie, as authorities implored residents to seek protection in shelters and fortify their residences.
About 530,000 people were without power as of Tuesday evening, according to The New York Times.
Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans were already without power as Melissa approached on Tuesday morning, lashing the coast with violent gusts and torrential downpours.
It is expected to bring flash floods and landslides when it makes landfall, a UN weather official said. It is also expected to cause mass devastation.
“It’s a catastrophic situation expected in Jamaica,” the World Meteorological Organisation's tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan said. “For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure.”
Jamaican authorities ordered mandatory evacuations.
“We urge the public to exercise extreme caution: activities such as climbing roofs, securing sandbags or cutting trees may seem manageable, but even minor mistakes during hurricane conditions can result in serious injury or death,” it said. “Driving through flooded roads or areas with debris is also extremely hazardous.”
Jamaican officials earlier urged residents to brace for the storm as it headed towards the island, bringing intense rain and wind and threatening to cause widespread destruction.
Wind speeds at the front of the storm could be 30 per cent stronger, and it is forecast to dump up to 102cm of rain across parts of Jamaica.
Devastating power
Melissa is expected to become the first confirmed category-five storm to hit Jamaica. It has enough force to flatten homes and cause power cuts that could last for weeks or months.
The storm’s outer bands have already knocked out power to about 50,000 people, mostly in western Jamaica, said Mr McKenzie.
“It’s making a turn to beeline towards the western part of Jamaica,” Evan Thompson, principal director at the country’s national meteorological service, said at a media briefing on Monday evening.
A break in a high-pressure system that had earlier kept Melissa tracking west, parallel to the nation’s shoreline, is allowing the hurricane to turn sharply north, he added.
There is no record of a storm of Melissa's strength hitting Jamaica since 1851, said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. The most powerful storm to hit the island was Gilbert in 1988, as a category four with winds of about 210kph.
Jamaica’s Information Minister, Dana Morris Dixon, invoked the colours of the national flag – black for hardship, green for nature and gold for sunshine – at the briefing. “We are a people that are resilient,” she said.
Haiti
Melissa has already led to at least seven deaths across the Caribbean, including three in Haiti.
Earlier, the storm destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares of maize at a time when at least 5.7 million people, more than half of the country's population, are experiencing crisis levels of hunger.
Bahamas and Cuba
A hurricane warning has been issued for the south-eastern and central Bahamas and four provinces in Cuba, where the storm is forecast to hit after devastating Jamaica.
The US Navy pulled out non-essential personnel from its base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel told his cabinet on Monday to “spare no expense” on preparations for Melissa’s landfall, despite an economic crisis that has led to shortages of food, medicine and basic goods.
Dominican Republic
The storm brought heavy rain to the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of nine provinces under red alert.
Melissa damaged more than 750 homes across the country, displacing more than 3,760 people. Flooding also severed access to at least 48 communities, officials said.
