Jamaican officials issued dire warnings Saturday as Hurricane Melissa barrels toward the island, poised to become the strongest storm ever recorded there.
Melissa reached Category 4 status Sunday morning, with maximum sustained winds near 140 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory, warning of “life threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides” in portions of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week.
Melissa is “expected to be a major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica Monday night or Tuesday morning and southeastern Cuba late Tuesday,” it added.
Forecasters said Saturday it is likely to achieve Category 5 status within 48 hours, with sustained winds of at least 157 mph.
“Do not take this lightly,” said Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport. “Do not make foolish decisions. Do not make stupid decisions like coming out into the middle of the storm to see what’s happening.”
On Saturday night, the country’s National Emergency Operations Centre was activated to prepare for impact, the Jamaican government said. Parish emergency operations centers, regional shelters and Jamaica’s Emergency Response Team are all operational, it said.
All airports in Jamaica will close at 8 p.m. Saturday, Vaz said. The last flight of the day will still be allowed to land if delayed, but all flights after that will be suspended until further notice.
At Category 4 strength, Melissa would be the strongest recorded storm to ever pass over Jamaica, according to Evan Thompson, the principal director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.
“There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this storm,” he said.
Jamaica’s Meteorological Service warned in a statement Saturday that in the next few days, “Catastrophic flash floods and landslides are likely.”
