Jamaica is bracing for what could be the most intense storm in its history as Hurricane Melissa rapidly approaches with powerful Category 5 winds.
The hurricane is expected to gather speed and batter the Caribbean country with up to 76 centimetres (30 inches) of rain when it makes landfall on Tuesday.
âCatastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely,â the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami has warned.
At least four people have already died, including three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic. One person remains missing.
Maximum sustained winds are expected to reach 150 mph (240km/h) in Jamaica.
âMany of these communities will not survive this flooding,â local government minister, Desmond McKenzie, said at a press conference on Monday. âKingston is low, extremely low. No community in Kingston is immune from flooding.â
Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister, said that the force of the storm was unprecedented.
“We’ve heard the rainfall numbers. They’re numbers we’ve never heard before,” he said.
Hurricane Melissa now a Category 5 storm, says NHC
The National Hurricane Centre has upgraded its classification of Hurricane Melissa, as it warned it is now a Category 5 storm.
Destructive winds, storm sturge, and catastrophic flood will worsen on Jamaica through the day and into tonight, it said on Monday.
Map: Path of Hurricane Melissa as Jamaica braces for impact
Photos show Hurricane Melissa’s impact on the Carribean
