Hurricane Melissa is increasingly strengthening in the Caribbean and will reportedly intensify to Category 5 status, accompanied with strong winds of up to 160 mph (257 km/h) before making landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday morning.
The gusts are likely to make Melissa the strongest hurricane to strike the island in today’s age, potentially exceeding Hurricane Gilbert of 1988, causing significant impact.
Experts have already issued warnings across Jamaica to stay alert and take precautionary measures, while Haiti’s southwest peninsula is under a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning.
As of Sunday morning, Melissa had reached into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and was moving westward at 5 mph (7 km/h).
The storm is likely to bring catastrophic rainfall, nearly 30 inches (76 cm) in parts of Jamaica and Haiti, causing greater impact that may also lead to fatal flash floods, landsliding, and storm surges of 9 to 13 feet (2.7–4 meters).
Melissa is likely to turn northeast toward Hispaniola and the Bahamas after hitting Jamaica that may weaken slightly but still pose major threats.
Moreover, Jamaica’s National Emergency Operation Centre is on high alert, with securities who are proactively working to provide shelters.
Additionally the National Hurricane Center has warned that Melissa could be the island’s most powerful storm in decades, with catastrophic effects expected in the starting of this week.
