Jamaica is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, which has intensified into a Category 5 storm — the highest possible level on the hurricane scale.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued urgent warnings for destructive winds reaching up to 260 km/h and torrential rainfall of up to 100 cm expected in some regions over the next four days.
The Jamaican government has ordered mandatory evacuations in parts of Kingston and declared the entire island “under threat.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie have urged residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to seek safe shelter. All 881 emergency shelters across the island have been opened.
Hurricane Melissa has already claimed four lives in Hispaniola — three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where a 79-year-old man drowned in flooding in Santo Domingo. A 13-year-old boy remains missing, and several people have been rescued from submerged vehicles.
According to forecasts, the hurricane’s core is expected to pass near or over Jamaica late Monday night or early Tuesday, before moving toward southeastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Due to the storm’s slow movement, the risk of catastrophic flooding and widespread damage remains extremely high.
