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<\/p>\nHurricane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica today as a category five hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.<\/p>\n
It was one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin, the NHC added.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said it expects a catastrophic situation in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa makes landfall with gusts over 300km\/h, flash floods and landslides in the worst storm to hit the island this century.<\/p>\n
“It’s a catastrophic situation expected in Jamaica,” WMO tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan told a Geneva press briefing.<\/p>\n
“For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure.”<\/p>\n
Watch: Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica <\/p>\n
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1.5m people ‘may be impacted’<\/p>\n
The hurricane could affect 1.5 million people in Jamaica alone, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.<\/p>\n
“1.5 million people may be impacted,” Necephor Mghendi, the IFRC’s head of delegation for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, told reporters in Geneva from Trinidad and Tobago, warning that number could be “an underestimate”.<\/p>\n
Jamaican officials have urged people to get to higher ground and shelters, with the prime minister warning it could bring massive devastation.<\/p>\n
The Category 5 storm – which could be the island’s most violent on record – is charting a painstakingly slow path through the Caribbean, and has already been blamed for three deaths in Jamaica, three deaths in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n
The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised any Irish citizens currently in Jamaica to see appropriate shelter and follow the advice of local authorities.<\/p>\n
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Its heavy rains combined with intense winds could wreak devastation on par with historic hurricanes, including 2017’s Maria or 2005’s Katrina, which left indelible impacts on Puerto Rico and the US city of New Orleans.<\/p>\n
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing such massive storms to become increasingly common in the region.<\/p>\n
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Local government minister Desmond McKenzie said yesterday evening that of the island’s 880-odd shelters standing by, only 133 were hosting locals.<\/p>\n
They “should be seeing people now”, Mr McKenzie said, adding: “I want to urge persons in these parishes to get to high ground as quickly as possible.”<\/p>\n
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\nPeople sit in a shelter at Holy Family Primary School in Kingston<\/p>\n
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the island’s western end faced the worst destruction.<\/p>\n
“I don’t believe there is any infrastructure within this region that could withstand a Category 5 storm, so there could be significant dislocation,” he told CNN.<\/p>\n
But despite pleas to evacuate, many Jamaican residents were staying put.<\/p>\n
Watch: ‘Hurricane hunters’ fly through eye of Melissa<\/p>\n
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“I am not moving. I don’t believe I can run from death,” Roy Brown said in Kingston’s seaside area of Port Royal.<\/p>\n
The plumber and tiler said he was reluctant to flee because of his past experiences with the poor conditions of government hurricane shelters.<\/p>\n
Fisherwoman Jennifer Ramdial agreed, adding: “I just don’t want to leave.”<\/p>\n
Mr Holness told a press briefing that the evacuation was about “the national good of saving lives”.<\/p>\n
“You have been warned. It’s now up to you to use that information to make the right decision,” he said.<\/p>\n
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\nHurricane Melissa updates are seen on a news channel<\/p>\n
Part of Melissa’s punch stems from its slow pace: it is lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just 4km\/h.<\/p>\n
That means areas in its path could endure punishing conditions for far longer than during most hurricanes.<\/p>\n
The NHC warned of “catastrophic” flash flooding, landslides and destructive winds that could cause lengthy power and communications outages, along with “extensive infrastructural damage”.<\/p>\n
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