Hurricane Melissa is set to hit Jamaica as its strongest storm since records began

By JOHN MYERS JR and D NICA COTO Associated Press KINGSTON Jamaica AP Hurricane Melissa was set to pummel Jamaica on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category storm the strongest to lash the island since recordkeeping began years ago A man walks in Kingston Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa approaches Tuesday Oct AP Photo Matias Delacroix Hours before the storm the Jamaican regime stated it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage The streets in the capital Kingston remained largely empty except for the lone stray dog traversing puddles and a handful of people walking briskly under tree branches waving in a stiff wind There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category Prime Minister Andrew Holness noted The question now is the speed of recovery That s the challenge Related Articles In contemporary times in History October Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York China s rare golden monkeys debut at European zoos a attainable successor to panda diplomacy Ten people face trial accused of cyberbullying French president s wife Brigitte Macron Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica Trump praises Japan s new prime minister saying the US is an ally at the strongest level The storm is expected to make landfall on Tuesday and slice diagonally across the island Shortly after it is expected to hit Cuba Landslides fallen trees and numerous power outages were informed ahead of the storm with authorities in Jamaica cautioning that the cleanup and damage assessment would be slow The storm is expected to enter near St Elizabeth parish in the south and exit around St Ann parish in the north forecasters disclosed Total structural failure is workable near the path of Melissa s center the U S National Hurricane Center in Miami A life-threatening storm surge of up to feet is expected across southern Jamaica with functionaries concerned about the impact on selected hospitals along the coastline Vitality Minister Christopher Tufton stated specific patients were relocated from the ground floor to the second floor and we hope that will suffice for any surge that will take place The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean including three in Jamaica three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic where another person remains missing Jamaica braces for catastrophic damage On Tuesday morning Melissa was centered about miles south-southeast of Negril Jamaica and about miles southwest of Guant namo Cuba The system had maximum sustained winds of mph and was moving north-northeast at mph according to the U S National Hurricane Center in Miami We will get through it together explained Evan Thompson principal director at Jamaica s meteorological utility Colin Bogle a Mercy Corps advisor based near Kingston commented the bulk families are sheltering in place despite the leadership ordering evacuations in flood-prone communities People take shelter in a school ahead of Hurricane Melissa s forecast arrival in Old Harbour Jamaica Monday Oct AP Photo Matias Delacroix Numerous have never experienced anything like this before and the uncertainty is frightening he revealed There is profound fear of losing homes and livelihoods of injury and of displacement Necephor Mghendi the international Red Cross regional head of delegation for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean disclosed that an estimated million people in the storm s path will be affected but a large number of others as well The entire population may feel the impact one way or the other he commented by video link from Port-of-Spain Trinidad and Tobago U N agencies and dozens of nonprofits had food medicine and other essential supplies prepositioned as they awaited a distribution rush after the storm Matthew Samuda Jamaica s water and climate minister commented he had more than generators available to deploy after the storm but warned people to set aside clean water and use it sparingly Every drop will count he commented Melissa takes aim at Cuba Melissa also was expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba late Tuesday as a powerful hurricane A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma Santiago de Cuba Guant namo and Holguin provinces while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas Up to inches centimeters of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba along with a considerable storm surge along the coast Cuban officers noted Monday that they were evacuating more than people from the region including Santiago the island s second-largest city Melissa also has drenched the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic with a tropical storm warning still in effect for Haiti The hurricane was forecast to turn northeast after Cuba and strike the southeast Bahamas by Wednesday evening A hurricane warning was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands Coto released from San Juan Puerto Rico Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed