Shortly earlier than landfall, Jamaican electrical utility JPS mentioned energy outages had affected greater than a 3rd of its clients. In its worst-hit parishes, some three-quarters of consumers misplaced energy, JPS mentioned.
Native Authorities Minister Desmond McKenzie informed reporters that just about 6,000 individuals had moved into non permanent shelters. The federal government had issued necessary evacuation orders for some 28,000 individuals, however some have been reluctant to go away their properties.
“Do not wager in opposition to Melissa, as a result of you’ll lose,” warned McKenzie, as authorities implored residents to hunt safety in shelters and fortify their residences.
JAMAICA’S ‘STORM OF THE CENTURY’
“It is a catastrophic scenario,” the World Meteorological Organisation’s tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan informed a press briefing. “For Jamaica, will probably be the storm of the century for certain.”
Storm surges of as much as 4 meters have been anticipated, she mentioned, with rainfall set to exceed 70 cm, inflicting “catastrophic flash flooding and landslides,” she mentioned.
Close by Haiti and the Dominican Republic have confronted days of torrential downpours resulting in a minimum of 4 deaths, authorities mentioned. A minimum of three individuals died throughout storm preparations in Jamaica, native media reported.
After crossing japanese Cuba, nonetheless as a strong storm, Melissa is forecast to go via the Bahamas, the place Prime Minister Philip Davis has ordered evacuations for individuals in southern and japanese elements of the archipelago.
