Hurricane Melissa: Caribbean countries brace for catastrophic floods, landslides

WASHINGTON, DC: Authorities in atleast five different countries have been working to evacuate low-lying areas in preparation for record amounts of rain expected due to Hurricane Melissa, which has been upgraded to a category 4 storm moving west in the Caribbean, the New York Times reported on Sunday (local time).

Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas were opening shelters and making other emergency preparations as experts warned that Hurricane Melissa could become the strongest storm to make landfall in Jamaica’s recorded history, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

The surge is expected to reach eight feet or more in coastal areas, according to the agency.

As per NYT, Southwest Haiti and portions of Jamaica were bracing for “catastrophic” flash flooding and landslides from the intense and fast-developing hurricane, which has already killed at least four people.

Director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service, Evan Thompson, mentioned that hurricane conditions would be felt in Jamaica starting on Monday, and the storm is expected to move across the country on Tuesday.

“There is a slight shift in the track, moving it a little west than where it was originally projected,” he said. “We earlier had said that it would make impact or landfall along the coast of Clarendon, but it seems now to be shifted more to Manchester.”

Meteorologists said the projections of up to 35 inches of rain were “unprecedented.”

“We are expecting that a lot of rainfall will continue to be dousing the island,” Thompson added.

In Cuba, the authorities were cleaning streets to prevent clogged drains and flying debris, trimming trees and taking down traffic lights as coastal communities were ordered evacuated. Six provinces were under a hurricane watch, as per the New York Times.

Nearly 4 thousand people had been evacuated earlier, while certain other southern provinces were on red alert. Some bridges and homes had been damaged by rain days before the storm’s official arrival.

In the Dominican Republic, 4,000 families received cash assistance from the program, while the organisation positioned food in eastern Cuba to feed 275,000 people for up to 60 days.

In Jamaica, disaster management committees have been activated and are ready, and residents appear to be taking the storm seriously, with some beginning to panic, said Norman Scott, the mayor of Spanish Town, just west of the capital, Kingston. (ANI)