The death toll from Hurricane Melissa is growing as the powerful storm moves across the Bahamas after leaving a trail of “catastrophic” destruction across Jamaica and parts of Cuba.
Authorities in Haiti said that at least 25 people, including children, have been killed. In Jamaica, at least eight people have been killed. One death has also been reported in the Dominican Republic. That would bring the current known death toll from the hurricane to 34 across the Caribbean.
It’s expected that the extent of Hurricane Melissa’s damage will be clearer in the coming days as authorities work to reach the hardest-hit areas.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated to shelters ahead of the arrival of the “extremely dangerous” storm, with a hurricane warning put in place for Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, as well as the southeastern and central Bahamas.
Hurricane Melissa was a Category 5 storm at its peak, and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Now, it has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm with 90 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.
National blood supply in Jamaica is ‘critically low’, health ministry says
Health authorities in Jamaica have urged people to donate blood to replenish the “critically low” levels of the national supply in the country.
The health ministry said Hurricane Melissa “disrupted routine blood collection drives and has slowed the movement of blood and blood products to hospitals.”
It said the shortage could affect people who need transfusions.
“We are urging all Jamaicans who are able to give blood. Your donation can save lives, especially at a time when hospitals are still in emergency mode and every unit counts,” Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, the chief medical officer of Health for Jamaica, said in the statement.
Watch: Jamaica police work to clear fallen trees after Hurricane Melissa devastation
Eighteen people missing in Haiti
At least eighteen people are still missing in Haiti as the island begins to recover from Hurricane Melissa.
Haitian officials said Wednesday at least 25 people died in the storm, including children.
The deadly combination that made Hurricane Melissa so devastating
Experts say that the storm’s powerful winds and its slow pace, likely exacerbated by climate change, have allowed a huge hurricane to linger in the region for maximum damage.
Keep reading:
Hurricane Melissa battering Bahamas with ‘damaging winds and flooding rains’
Hurricane Melissa is currently pounding the Bahamas with “damaging winds, flooding rains, and a dangerous storm surge”, the National Hurricane Center said.
Melissa is expected to continue to move across the southeastern or central Bahamas this evening, and is forecast to pass near or to the west of Bermuda late Thursday and Thursday night, it said.
Dozens of people have already been evacuated from the archipelago’s southeast corner, where conditions have rapidly deteriorated amid widespread power outages and communications breakdowns.
Mapped: Hurricane Melissa’s forecasted path
Hurricane Melissa is forecasted to continue moving across the Bahamas on Wednesday evening and pass near Bermuda late Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.
See the storm’s path below:
Towns underwater, 185mph winds and half a million without power: Hurricane Melissa’s path of destruction devastates Jamaica
Whole towns have been left underwater, one of the island’s airports has been flooded, and more than half a million people are without power. Tens of thousands of tourists remain stranded, including 8,000 Britons, with thousands of locals in shelters.
Footage of the damage to the airport in Montego Bay showed seating areas ripped up, broken glass and collapsed ceilings after the category 5 storm hit. Four hospitals were damaged, at least one with its roof torn off, trees were uprooted, and roads were deluged overnight.
Keep reading:
Moment Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba captured in satellite imagery
Moment Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba captured in satellite imagery
‘People have lost everything,’ Haiti resident says
Charly Saint-Vil, a 30-year-old resident of Petit-Goâve, Haiti, told the Associated Press that “people have lost everything.”
Hurricane Melissa killed at least 20 people, including children, in Saint-Vil’s hometown. Haitian officials have reported at least 25 deaths overall.
Saint-Vil explained that he’s hosting several people who lost their homes in the storm.
“What I can do, I will do it, but it’s not easy because the situation is really complicated for everyone,” he said.
