🔗 Share this article

Hurricane the storm is projected to escalate to a rare Category 5 cyclone as it shifts toward Jamaica, delivering dangerous sudden floods and landslides.

The cyclone, which recorded winds of up to 120 mph as of 0600 Greenwich Mean Time, is now shifting northwest in the Caribbean region and is projected to hit the coast by early next week, as reported by hurricane specialists.

Warnings of electricity outages and damage to infrastructure have been released as the hurricane generates up to thirty inches of rain and storm surges as high as 13ft above ground. "Seek shelter now," inhabitants have been urged.

Melissa is the 13th hurricane in this year's Atlantic season, which usually concludes in the eleventh month.

Highest-Level Hurricane Danger

A Category 5 hurricane is the most powerful category, with sustained winds of at least 157mph.

Although the hurricane is set to weaken to a fourth-level cyclone before arriving at the island, experts said there was "very little practical difference in the general consequences" upon landfall, and that the storm will be "at least that intensity" when it hits the country.

Immediate Safety Steps

With tropical storm-level wind and rainfall predicted to begin well before it passes over central Jamaica - perhaps encompassing the city of Kingston - warnings indicate that "readiness efforts must be accelerated".

"A multi-day period of harmful winds and heavy rainfall has started and will cause catastrophic and life-threatening rapid water accumulation and multiple mudslides," urged meteorological officials.

The country's head of government the statesman said: "I realize that there are countless citizens who are worried, who are extremely apprehensive, and with good reason: concern is justified.

"Yet the optimal approach to address nervousness and any unease and worry is to stay ready."

Residents are being instructed to fortify their houses with sandbags and timber panels, and to gather basic necessities.

Wider Impact

Advisories are also ongoing for regions of Haiti including the primary urban center, the Dominican Republic and the eastern part of Cuba, where this storm is projected to bring analogous consequences by the midweek period.

Rock slides presently generated by the storm have caused two deaths in Haiti, according to local authorities.

Expected Course

This weather system is predicted to pass over Cuba by Wednesday before moving through the Antillas Mayores and out into the Atlantic.

By the moment it reaches the Caribbean nation, it is forecast to have weakened to a category three storm.

Climate Background

Although it is challenging to connect individual weather events to global warming, experts say it is resulting in climate patterns increasingly frequent and more intense.

Higher ocean heat create more moisture in the atmosphere, helping fuel the formation of storms.

Ahead of the start of the current Atlantic hurricane season, weather organizations projected higher-than-average occurrence, referencing warmer seas and potential enhanced seasonal rains around African coastal regions - where hurricanes frequently develop.