Jamaica is currently being battered by Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in the island’s southwestern parishes early Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm. The hurricane, one of the strongest in Jamaica’s recorded history, struck near New Hope with devastating maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
The slow-moving storm, crawling north-northeast at only 7 mph, is unleashing what meteorologists warned would be “total structural failure” and a “true humanitarian crisis.” The National Hurricane Center has forecast a life-threatening storm surge of 9 to 13 feet above ground level for the southern coast.
Hundreds of communities are bracing for “catastrophic” flooding, with rainfall totals of 15 to 30 inches expected, and isolated peaks of up to 40 inches in mountainous terrain, triggering widespread, life-threatening landslides.
“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned the nation in a dire address. “The question now is the speed of recovery.”
Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect for the most vulnerable coastal areas, including Port Royal, Old Harbour Bay, and Portland Cottage. Emergency shelters have been activated across the island, though many residents attempted to ride out the storm at home.
The island is now in a state of lockdown. All travel has been halted, with both Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay closed, leaving thousands of tourists and residents stranded. Widespread power outages and communication disruptions are already being reported as the storm’s eyewall carves a path of destruction across the island.
The situation is actively unfolding as Jamaica endures the full, devastating force of Hurricane Melissa.
