Hurricane Melissa bears down on eastern Cuba, expected to make landfall as a major storm early Wednesday, after pummelling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes.
Cuban authorities evacuated more than 700,000 people, with Granma, the official newspaper, reporting forecasters expect catastrophic damage from the Category 4 storm in Santiago de Cuba and nearby areas.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas provinces, plus the southeastern and central Bahamas. Bermuda is under a hurricane watch.
On Tuesday night, Melissa tracked northeast at 9 mph (15 kph) with 130 mph (215 kph) sustained winds, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.
Centred 110 miles (175 kilometres) southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, it was forecast to cross the island through the night.
The storm is expected to generate a storm surge of up to 12 feet (3.6 metres) in the region and drop up to 20 inches (51 centimetres) of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.
“Numerous landslides are likely in those areas,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which has already led to prolonged power blackouts, fuel shortages and food shortages.
“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a televised address, in which he assured that “no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population.”
At the same time, he urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the strongest ever to hit national territory.”
Provinces from Guantánamo — in the far east — to Camagüey, almost in the center of elongated Cuba, had already suspended classes on Monday.
As Cuba prepared for the storm, officials in Jamaica prepared to fan out on Wednesday to assess the damage.
Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in southern Jamaica and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “under water,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.
The storm also damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients, McKenzie said.
More than half a million customers were without power as of late Tuesday as officials reported that most of the island experienced downed trees, power lines and extensive flooding.
The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure the quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.
The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
