Hurricane Melissa has claimed the lives of at least seven people across the northern Caribbean.
The Category 5 storm, which is the most powerful tropical cyclone so far this year, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, Oct. 28, before moving towards Cuba and then The Bahamas.
Three people have died and 13 others were injured while preparing for Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton confirmed on Monday, per the Jamaica Gleaner. Two of the people were cutting trees and the third was electrocuted, according to the Associated Press.
At least three people have also died in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another individual remains missing amid the storm, the outlet reported.
If Hurricane Melissa remains a Category 5 storm when it makes landfall in Jamaica, it would be the strongest storm to do so since record-keeping started in 1851.
Category 5 is the highest category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Major hurricanes in this category have winds reaching at least 157mph.
According to the BBC, a storm surge of up to 13 feet is expected along Kingston, Jamaica’s capital city, and in Montego Bay. A storm surge is an abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, per the National Ocean Service.
“Normally with a hurricane, you focus on two things – wind and rain because it happens very quickly,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness, per the Jamaica Observer. “Now we have to focus on three things: wind, rain and the length of time it will probably linger over the country.
