"Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled onto roads Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa pummeled the Caribbean island as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were reported as Melissa hit with 185 mph (295 kph) winds near New Hope, with officials cautioning that the cleanup and damage assessment could be slow."
"There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. The question now is the speed of recovery. That's the challenge. Floodwaters trapped at least three families in their homes in the community of Black River in western Jamaica, and crews were unable to help them because of dangerous conditions, said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica's Disaster Risk Management Council. Roofs were flying off, he said."
"McKenzie stressed that it was too early to talk about the extent of the damage because the hurricane the strongest to hit the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago was still pummeling the country. Rohan Brown, with Jamaica's Meteorological Service, warned that as Melissa moves off the coast, its counterclockwise rotation would bring a heavy storm surge to northern Jamaica through the night."
Hurricane Melissa struck southwestern Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph (295 kph) near New Hope. Heavy floodwaters, landslides, fallen trees, boulders and roofs torn off caused widespread destruction and dangerous conditions. At least three families were trapped in Black River and crews could not reach them because of flooding. Officials reported extensive inundation in St. Elizabeth and cautioned that damage assessment and cleanup would be slow. Nearly 15,000 people were sheltering and about 540,000 customers, or 77%, lost power. Forecasters warned a counterclockwise rotation would bring a heavy storm surge to northern Jamaica as the storm moved toward Cuba.
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