Shortly before landfall, Jamaican electric utility JPS said power outages had affected more than a third of its customers. In its worst-hit parishes, some three-quarters of customers lost power, JPS said.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie told reporters that nearly 6,000 people had moved into temporary shelters. The government had issued mandatory evacuation orders for some 28,000 people, but some were reluctant to leave their homes.
“Don’t bet against Melissa, because you will lose,” warned McKenzie, as authorities implored residents to seek protection in shelters and fortify their residences.
JAMAICA’S ‘STORM OF THE CENTURY’
“It’s a catastrophic situation,” the World Meteorological Organisation’s tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan told a press briefing. “For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure.”
Storm surges of up to four meters were expected, she said, with rainfall set to exceed 70 cm, causing “catastrophic flash flooding and landslides,” she said.
Nearby Haiti and the Dominican Republic have faced days of torrential downpours leading to at least four deaths, authorities said. At least three people died during storm preparations in Jamaica, local media reported.
After crossing eastern Cuba, still as a powerful storm, Melissa is forecast to head through the Bahamas, where Prime Minister Philip Davis has ordered evacuations for people in southern and eastern parts of the archipelago.
