Hurricane slams Cuba after pounding Jamaica
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba— Hurricane “Melissa” made landfall in eastern Cuba near the city of Chivirico early Wednesday as a Category 3 storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated to shelters in Cuba. A hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas.
Early Wednesday, Melissa had top sustained winds of 193 kilometers per hour (kph) and was moving northeast at 16 kph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was centered 32 km east of Chivirico and about 97 km west-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba.
Melissa was forecast to cross the island through the morning and move into the Bahamas later Wednesday. The continuing intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, US forecasters said. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.
‘Numerous landslides’
Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday with top sustained winds of 295 kph.
The storm was expected to generate a storm surge of up to 3.6 meters in the region and drop up to 51 centimeters of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.
The US Defense Department has released footage of views inside Hurricane Melissa. The military said a US Air Force Reserve crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the “Hurricane Hunters,” flew multiple passes through Melissa on Monday to collect critical weather data for the National Hurricane Center.
“Numerous landslides are likely in those areas,” said Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which already has led to prolonged power blackouts, fuel shortages and food shortages.
‘Strongest ever’
“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a televised address, in which he assured that “no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population.”
At the same time, he urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the strongest ever to hit national territory.”
Provinces from Guantánamo—in the far east—to Camagüey, almost in the center of elongated Cuba, had already suspended classes on Monday.
As Cuba prepared for the storm, officials in Jamaica prepared to fan out on Wednesday to assess the damage.
‘Under water’
Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in southern Jamaica and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “under water,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chair of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.
The storm also damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients, McKenzie said.
More than half a million customers were without power as of late Tuesday.
