NHC warns Melissa “re-strengthening” as it approaches Cuba at category 4<\/p>\n
The most recent 11pm ET advisory<\/a> from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned Melissa is \u201cre-strengthening as it approaches eastern Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n The hurricane is expected to make landfall \u201cas an extremely dangerous major hurricane in the next few hours,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the warning area in Cuba<\/a>, residents should seek safe shelter immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n The NHC has warned the Bahamas<\/a> that \u201cpreparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Melissa was briefly downgraded to a category 3 hurricane, it has officially bumped back up to a category 4, according to the NHC.<\/p>\n Hurricane warnings are in effect for:<\/p>\n Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas<\/p>\n Southeastern and Central Bahamas<\/p>\n A hurricane watch, typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, is in effect for:<\/p>\n Tropical storm warnings are in effect for:<\/p>\n We\u2019ll bring you the latest NHC update when it launches in about an hour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.55 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa about to hit Cuba<\/p>\n Category 4 Melissa is forecast to make landfall in eastern Cuba<\/a> early Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n Provinces from Guant\u00e1namo \u2014 in the far east \u2014 to Camag\u00fcey, almost in the center of elongated Cuba, had already suspended classes on Monday.<\/p>\n A storm surge of up to 12 feet (3.6m) in the region is expected to drop up to 20 inches (51cm) of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.<\/p>\n \u201cNumerous landslides are likely in those areas,\u201d said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.<\/p>\n The hurricane could worsen Cuba\u2019s severe economic crisis, which already has led to prolonged power blackouts, fuel shortages and food shortages.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump confirms US is prepared to aid Jamaica in Hurricane Melissa aftermath<\/p>\n The US president spoke to reporters on Air Force One, en route from Japan to South Korea:<\/p>\n We\u2019re watching it closely, and we\u2019re prepared to move.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never seen that before. I guess it can get that high, but I\u2019ve never seen it.<\/p>\n Earlier, Jamaica prime minister Andrew Holness said he received a message from US secretary of state Marco Rubio. In a video interview<\/a> with NBC\u2019s Tom Llamas, Holness said:<\/p>\n Secretary of State and the President of the United States have always been good to us, and we\u2019ve always been good and strong partners with the United States.<\/p>\n We\u2019re confident that whatever assistance they can render, whatever assistance we deem necessary, there will be a great effort to have that fulfilled.<\/p>\n An official platform<\/a> was launched<\/a> by Jamaica\u2019s government to \u201ccoordinate relief, mobilise support, and manage recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.\u201d<\/p>\n Holness told Llamas the Jamaican government will commence other relief and recovery efforts as soon as it is safe enough to do so.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Cuba\u2019s president has warned the country is in for a ‘very difficult night’<\/p>\n Writing on X, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez said 735,000 people had so far been evacuated.<\/p>\n Earlier, in a televised address to the nation and wearing an olive-green uniform, D\u00edaz-Canel urged the population to not underestimate the power of the storm, calling it \u201cthe strongest ever to hit national territory.\u201d<\/p>\n He asked residents to avoid bathing in swollen rivers and urged them not to leave evacuation sites \u201cuntil the order has been given.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.46 EDT<\/p>\n Jamaican government downgrades warnings from “Hurricane” to “Tropical Storm”<\/p>\n The National Hurricane Center\u2019s (NHC) latest 11pm ET update<\/a> said the government of Jamaica replaced the \u201cHurricane Warning\u201d with a \u201cTropical Storm Warning.\u201d<\/p>\n Damaging winds are forecast to gradually subside across Jamaica<\/a>, but the NHC advised locals to \u201cremain safe in shelter until sunrise.\u201d<\/p>\n Rohan Brown, of Jamaica\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.30 EDT<\/p>\n NHC warns Melissa “re-strengthening” as it approaches Cuba at category 4<\/p>\n The most recent 11pm ET advisory<\/a> from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned Melissa is \u201cre-strengthening as it approaches eastern Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n The hurricane is expected to make landfall \u201cas an extremely dangerous major hurricane in the next few hours,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the warning area in Cuba<\/a>, residents should seek safe shelter immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n The NHC has warned the Bahamas<\/a> that \u201cpreparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Melissa was briefly downgraded to a category 3 hurricane, it has officially bumped back up to a category 4, according to the NHC.<\/p>\n Hurricane warnings are in effect for:<\/p>\n Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas<\/p>\n Southeastern and Central Bahamas<\/p>\n A hurricane watch, typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, is in effect for:<\/p>\n Tropical storm warnings are in effect for:<\/p>\n We\u2019ll bring you the latest NHC update when it launches in about an hour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.55 EDT<\/p>\n If you are just joining us, here is a our full story on what has happened so far:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Welcome summary<\/p>\n Welcome to our live coverage of Hurricane Melissa<\/a> as it travels through the Caribbean.<\/p>\n Melissa is heading for Cuba\u2019s second-largest city, Santiago de Cuba, after making landfall in neighbouring Jamaica as the strongest cyclone on record to hit the Caribbean<\/a> island nation.<\/p>\n The hurricane roared ashore near Jamaica\u2019s south-western town of New Hope, packing sustained winds of up to 185mph (295km\/h), according to the US National Hurricane Center, well above the minimum 157mph (252km\/h) wind speed of a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.<\/p>\n In south-western Jamaica, the parish of St Elizabeth was left \u201cunderwater\u201d, an official said, with more than 500,000 residents without power.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reports that we have had so far would include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well, and damage to our road infrastructure,\u201d Jamaica\u2019s prime minister, Andrew Holness, said on CNN after the storm had passed.<\/p>\n Melissa weakened to a Category 3 storm but has since strengthened to Category 4 as it neared the Cuban coast. Authorities there said they evacuated about 500,000 people from areas vulnerable to winds and flooding.<\/p>\n Here are the major developments:<\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica\u2019s on Tuesday as a category 5 hurricane. It is the strongest to lash the island since record-keeping began in 1851. The storm lost some power crossing Jamaica\u2019s mountainous terrain, but remains a powerful Category 4 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.<\/p>\n The hurricane is now making a toward Cuba. It could make a second landfall there as early as midnight, bringing winds of between 140 and 145mph.<\/p>\n Cuba\u2019s president warned citizens the storm could be \u201cone of the most severe – or possibly the strongest\u201d ever to hit the island. \u201cWe want to emphasise … the magnitude of this event,\u201d said Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, urging Cubans not to return to their homes from shelters.<\/p>\n Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica\u2019s Disaster Risk Management Council, said the south-western parish of St Elizabeth \u201cis under water\u201d \u2013 and has sustained extensive damage.<\/p>\n Aid agencies and disaster relief charities are preparing to deploy. They will start operations across Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean at speed as soon as weather conditions improve enough to safely do so. The Red Cross has said it expects about 1.5 million people to be directly affected by the disaster, set to become the largest in Jamaica\u2019s history.<\/p>\n