Melissa strengthens into a Category 5 hurricane as it approaches Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 status Monday as it approached Jamaica, where forecasters said it would cause catastrophic flooding, multiple landslides and extensive damage to infrastructure.

Melissa is expected to make landfall on the island on Tuesday and cross Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday.

Early Monday, Melissa was centered about 135 miles (220 kilometers) southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 320 miles (515 kilometers) southwest of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph) and was moving west at 3 mph (5 kph), the center said.

Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds exceeding 250 kph (157 mph). Melissa is the strongest hurricane in recent history that is forecast to directly hit the small Caribbean nation.

“Do not venture out of your safe haven,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

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Some areas in eastern Jamaica could receive up to 40 inches (1 meter) of rain, while western Haiti could receive 16 inches (40 centimeters), according to the hurricane center. “Catastrophic flash floods and numerous landslides are likely,” he warned.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in seven flood-prone communities in Jamaica, and buses transported people to safe shelters.

The slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

“I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,” said Desmond McKenzie, vice-president of the Jamaica Disaster Risk Management Council. “Don’t bet with Melissa. It’s not a safe bet.”

AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez

The hurricane was expected to make landfall again later Tuesday in eastern Cuba. A hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguín, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 51 centimeters (20 inches) of rain was forecast for some parts of Cuba, along with significant storm surge along the coast.

A tropical storm warning also remained in effect for Haiti.

A record storm for Jamaica

Melissa could be the strongest hurricane Jamaica has experienced in decades, said Evan Thompson, senior director of Jamaica’s weather service. It warned that clean-up and damage assessment would be seriously delayed due to expected landslides, flooding and blocked roads.

It would be the first time in recent history that a Category 4 or higher storm made landfall in Jamaica, Thompson said.

He noted that Hurricane Gilbert was a Category 3 storm when it hit the island in 1988. Hurricanes Ivan and Beryl were both Category 4 storms, but they did not make landfall, Thompson said.

AP Photo/Matías Delacroix

In addition to the rain, Melissa is likely to cause a life-threatening storm surge along the southern coast of Jamaica, with a maximum of about 4 meters (13 feet) above ground level, near and east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall, the U.S. center said.

“Don’t make stupid decisions,” warned Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s transport minister. “We are in a very, very serious moment in the coming days.”

A success in Hispaniola

The storm has already caused heavy rain in the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of the nine provinces still under red alert.

Melissa damaged more than 750 homes across the country and displaced more than 3,760 people. The flooding has also cut off access to at least 48 communities, officials said.

In neighboring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares (37 acres) of corn at a time when at least 5.7 million people, more than half the country’s population, are experiencing critical levels of hunger, with 1.9 million of them facing emergency levels of hunger.

“Floods are obstructing access to agricultural land and markets, endangering crops and the winter agricultural season,” the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said.

Melissa was expected to continue dumping heavy rain on parts of Haiti as it moves northeast in the coming days.

A hurricane watch was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

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San Juan Country, Puerto Rico.