"Hurricane Melissa has torn through the Caribbean, slamming into Cuba while leaving parts of neighbouring Jamaica broken and reeling from ferocious winds and extreme rainfall. The effects of the colossal hurricane were felt across the region, even in countries that were not directly in its path. In nearby Haiti, residents of a small town were mourning the death of 25 people swept away in floods. The most intense tropical cyclone to hit Jamaica in nearly two centuries, Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes observed since record-keeping began."
"Many Jamaicans woke up on Wednesday without power, with reports of whole neighbourhoods submerged. The prime minister, Andrew Holness, has declared the country a disaster area, giving authorities extra powers such as issuing mandatory evacuation orders for flooded regions and preventing price gouging. Massive damage was reported across the island, much of it in the westernmost parts, where the category 5 cyclonic storm moved diagonally across ground at a slow pace, ripping roofs from buildings and flipping over cars."
"Photos showed a tree ripped out of the ground by the roots and roads submerged by gravel and earth. Jamaica's minister of local government, Desmond McKenzie, said the hurricane was one of the worst experiences that [Jamaica] has ever encountered. Our infrastructure has been severely compromised, he said. The entire [Island of] Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa. There are close to 15,000 people in shelters and more than 530,000 without electricity, in a country of 2.8 million."
Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, striking Cuba and moving across Jamaica as a slow-moving category 5 cyclone that caused catastrophic wind and rainfall. The storm produced extreme flooding and structural damage, ripping roofs, flipping cars, uprooting trees, and burying roads in gravel and earth. At least 25 people died after being swept away in floods in a Haitian town. Jamaica declared a disaster area, with about 15,000 people in shelters and over 530,000 without electricity. Climate scientists link human-caused global heating to the rapid intensification of modern storms. Damage was especially severe in western Jamaica.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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