Jamaica braces as Hurricane Melissa strengthens offshore

Jamaicans have been urged to take shelter as Hurricane Melissa continued to strengthen offshore.

Already a major Category 4 storm, Melissa was threatening on Monday to hit the Caribbean island nation hard. The slow pace at which it is moving, just 7 kilometres (4 miles) an hour, suggests that areas in the hurricane’s path could suffer extended punishing conditions and significant volumes of rainfall.

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Melissa was centred about 205km (130 miles) south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 495km (310 miles) south-southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, on Sunday night. Landfall in Jamaica is not expected until late Monday or early Tuesday.

The hurricane could reach Category 5 strength on Monday with winds greater than 250 kilometres per hour (155 miles per hour) with maximum sustained winds of 230km/h (143mph) as of Sunday night, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Up to about 1 metre (40 inches) of rainfall could hit parts of Jamaica as the storm passes directly over the island, threatening flash flooding and landslides.

“This extreme rainfall potential, owing to the slow motion, is going to create a catastrophic event here for Jamaica,” US National Hurricane Center (NHC) Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said in a webcast briefing.

“You need to just be wherever you’re going to be and be ready to ride this out for several days,” Rhome said.

Jamaica’s government ordered mandatory evacuations late on Sunday for Port Royal in Kingston, Portland Cottage and Rocky Point in Clarendon, Old Harbour Bay in St Catherine and Taylor Land, Bull Bay, New Haven and Riverton City in St Andrew.

“Many of these communities will not survive this flooding,” Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government, said at a news conference. “Kingston is low, extremely low … No community in Kingston is immune from flooding.

“There is nothing more we can do as a government but to beg and beseech persons to heed the warning. And if it will help, I will go on my knees,” he said.

“This is one bet you cannot win. You cannot bet against Melissa,” McKenzie warned, advising that people could go to more than 650 shelters that are open across the country.

This handout satellite image shows Hurricane Melissa southeast of Jamaica at 10:30pm local time on Saturday (03:30 GMT on Sunday) [Handout: RAMMB/CIRA/AFP]

Evan Thompson, the principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, said the storm surge is expected mainly over the southern side of the island.

“There is potential (for) flooding in every parish of our country,” Thompson said.

“If you’re in a flood-prone, low-lying area, you need to take note. If you’re near a river course or a gully, you need to take special note and find some alternative location that you can move to should you be threatened by the heavy rainfall.”

A man installs storm shutters at a business in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Portmore, St Catherine parish, Jamaica, on Sunday [Ricardo Makyn/AFP]

The AFP news agency spoke with Winston Moxam as he hurried to prepare his home for the approaching storm.

“I lose my roof, I lose a whole lot of things,” Maxim said, adding that he was particularly worried by warnings the storm could be worse than 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert, which left more than 40 dead in Jamaica and killed hundreds more around the Caribbean and in Mexico.

Jamaica’s two main airports, the Norman Manley International Airport and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, as well as seaports, were closed.

Trail of destruction

After passing over Jamaica, the storm is forecast to head north and cross over eastern Cuba on Tuesday night, while continuing to bring rains and heavy winds to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week, as its outer bands brought heavy rains and landslides.

The Dominican Republic’s emergency operations centre has placed nine of 31 provinces on red alert due to a risk of flash floods, rising rivers and landslides.

The Cuban government issued a hurricane warning for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin. It also sent a tropical storm warning to the province of Las Tunas.

Climate change ‘a daily reality’

Although Jamaica is used to hurricanes, climate change is making tropical storms more frequent and severe, including by causing heavier rainfall and slower-moving storms, due to warming oceans and air temperatures.

With a population of less than three million people, Jamaica is responsible for just 0.02 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to data from the World Resources Institute, but as an island nation, it is expected to continue to bear the brunt of worsening climate effects.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged wealthy countries to increase climate financing to assist countries like Jamaica with adapting.

“Climate change is not a distant threat or an academic consideration. It is a daily reality for small island developing states like Jamaica,” he said.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.

The last major hurricane to affect Jamaica was Beryl in early July 2024, which was an abnormally strong storm for the time of year.

Beryl brought downpours and strong winds to Jamaica as it moved past the island’s southern coast, leaving at least four people dead.