Kingston, Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa was close to Pummel Jamaica on Tuesday as Basic section of section 5the strongest to hit the island since it was first recorded 174 years ago.
There was a storm it is expected to make landfall in the morning And it’s smooth across the island, entering near St Elizabeth Parish in the south and exiting St Ann Parish in the north, forecasters said.
Hours before the storm, the government said it was doing everything it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage.
“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand phase 5,” said Ndukazi Andrew Holness. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That is the challenge.”
Landslides, fallen trees and power outages were reported ahead of the storm, with officials in Jamaica warning that cleanup and damage assessments will be slow.
Melissa is expected to bring 15 to 30 inches of rain to areas of Jamaica and 6 to 12 inches to the south of Hispaniola (this island entered Haiti and the Dominican Republic) For the Surricans “Flash Field Flash Flash and Multi-Country Intensification is possible,” The agency stressed.
Mathias Delacroix / ap
For Eastern Cuba, the total rain can reach 10 to 20 inches, with 20 centimeters in some places from Monday to Tuesday, “the possibility center caused.
And a total of 5 to 10 inches of rain is expected today Wednesday in the southeastern Bahamas, leading to areas of flash flooding.
Hurricanes are expected to open at 13 feet above the 13-foot mark, with officials concerned about the impact on other hospitals near the beach. Health Minister Christopher Tufton said some patients are being moved from the ground floor to the second floor “and (we) hope that will be sufficient for any surgery that takes place.”
The storm has already been blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where no one else is missing.
Mathias Delacroix / ap 
Melissa was grounded about 135 kilometers southwest of Kingston and about 310 kilometers southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, more than the 157 mph needed to reach the top Saffir-simpson storm wind index. It was moving northeast at 2 mph, according to the hurricane center.
“We’re going to get into it all the time,” said Evan Thompson, director general of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.
Colin BOGLE, a Corn Corps Advisor based near Kingston, said most of the families are local
“Many have never seen anything like this before, and the uncertainty is scary,” she said. “Great fear of losing homes and training, of being hurt, and being dispossessed.”
Matthew SAMUDA, Jamaica’s water and natural environment, said he had more than 50 producers found after the storm, but warned people to set aside fresh water and use it sparingly.
“Always down will count,” he said.
Melissa is also expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba on Tuesday as a strong storm.
A typhoon warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for las tunas. Up to 20 centimeters of rain was forecast for parts of Cuba, and high storm surge along the coast.
Cuban authorities said Monday they were fleeing more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, its second-largest city.
Melissa also issued southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a tropical storm warning still in effect for Haiti.
The storm was forecast to turn northeast after Cuba and hit the southeastern Bahamas on 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.
The US Department of Tourism issued emergency disaster warnings for Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Bahamas on Monday, urging US citizens to consider leaving while flights are still available, or prepare for lodging in the area.
And CBS news has confirmed that emergency aircraft hunters from the national and air authorities were forced on Monday to abort it when they found “severe turbulence” in the southwest eye storm.
