Hurricane Melissa maintained Category 4 strength Sunday night and could strengthen, threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, UNN reports with reference to AP.
Details
Melissa is expected to pass near or over Jamaica early Tuesday, then cross Cuba and reach the southeastern Bahamas by Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Center said.
"Weather conditions (in Jamaica) will deteriorate sharply today," Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the center, said Sunday. "Be prepared to weather a few days."
On Sunday evening, Melissa's epicenter was approximately 205 kilometers southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and approximately 495 kilometers southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.
Maximum sustained winds reached 230 km/h, and the westward movement speed was 7 km/h. On Monday, the hurricane could reach Category 5 strength with winds exceeding 250 km/h.
According to the center, Hurricane Melissa is expected to bring up to 76 centimeters of rainfall to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Some areas are expected to receive up to 1 meter of rainfall.
Warnings were also issued about expected significant damage to infrastructure, power and communication outages, and isolation of settlements in Jamaica.
The Cuban government, where up to 30 centimeters of rain may fall, issued a hurricane warning for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguín. A tropical storm warning was also issued for the province of Las Tunas.
Jamaica's two main airports, Norman Manley International Airport and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, were closed.
On Sunday, residents were ordered to evacuate the coastal area of Old Harbour Bay in the southern parish of St. Catherine. At a press conference, authorities said they were considering taking coercive measures, as many residents of flood-prone and low-lying communities had not heeded recommendations to seek safer alternative locations. Shelters were prepared on the island.
Evan Thompson, chief director of the Jamaica Meteorological Service, said that storm surge is expected mainly on the southern side of the island.
The US Central Center reported that storm surge heights could reach 4 meters above ground level near and east of Hurricane Melissa's landfall.
Some foreign governments are also preparing for the hurricane's approach to Jamaica.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda is accommodating visiting students in a hotel in Kingston. As of Sunday morning, 52 of them had checked in.
The slow-moving storm killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth in the Dominican Republic, where another person is missing.
The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said that by early next week, Melissa could bring a tropical storm or hurricane to the islands of the southeastern and central Bahamas, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Addition
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-normal season with 13-18 named storms.