Shortly earlier than landfall, Jamaican electrical utility JPS stated energy outages had affected greater than a 3rd of its clients. In its worst-hit parishes, some three-quarters of consumers misplaced energy, JPS stated.
Native Authorities Minister Desmond McKenzie instructed reporters that just about 6,000 individuals had moved into short-term shelters. The federal government had issued necessary evacuation orders for some 28,000 individuals, however some had been reluctant to depart their properties.
“Do not guess towards 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 instructed a press briefing. “For Jamaica, it will likely be the storm of the century for positive.”
Storm surges of as much as 4 meters had been anticipated, she stated, with rainfall set to exceed 70 cm, inflicting “catastrophic flash flooding and landslides,” she stated.
Close by Haiti and the Dominican Republic have confronted days of torrential downpours resulting in no less than 4 deaths, authorities stated. No less than three individuals died throughout storm preparations in Jamaica, native media reported.
After crossing japanese Cuba, nonetheless as a strong storm, Melissa is forecast to move by means of the Bahamas, the place Prime Minister Philip Davis has ordered evacuations for individuals in southern and japanese elements of the archipelago.
