Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Brings Devastation to Jamaica

Strategic Insights -

Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 5 storm, made landfall in Jamaica's southwestern coast on Tuesday, bringing catastrophic winds, prolonged rains, and destructive floods and landslides. The storm's sustained winds of 185 miles per hour surpassed those of Hurricane Katrina, and its slow pace raised concerns that it could wreak havoc as it lingered. Residents reported swelling rivers, winds peeling roofs off hospitals, schools, and homes, and hundreds of thousands had lost power.

Key Takeaways:

  • Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica's southwestern coast on Tuesday with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, surpassing those of Hurricane Katrina.
  • The storm's slow pace raised concerns that it could wreak havoc as it lingered, with forecasters predicting that its rains would be measured in feet, not inches, for Jamaica and other Caribbean nations.
  • Over 240,000 people in Jamaica lost power as of Tuesday morning, mostly in the southern part of the country where the hurricane made landfall.
  • The storm caused significant damage to infrastructure, with roofs peeled off hospitals, schools, and homes, and catastrophic landslides and flash flooding in narrow river valleys.
  • The National Hurricane Center warned that winds in Melissa's eyewall were so powerful that they could cause "total structural failure."
  • About 50,000 people were expected to move into hundreds of shelters across the island, but only 6,000 people had evacuated to shelters as of Tuesday morning.
  • Some Jamaicans chose to stay home rather than go to shelters due to concerns about crime, inadequate food, water, or bedding, and protecting their homes from thieves.
  • The storm was the fourth of five Atlantic hurricanes this year to undergo rapid intensification, an explosive growth in power expected to become more common as climate change warms the oceans.
  • Caribbean waters traveled over by Melissa were 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than usual.
  • Over 900,000 people in Cuba were urged to evacuate the country's eastern provinces, with over 425,000 having gone to shelters.

Statistics:

  • 240,000 people lost power in Jamaica as of Tuesday morning.
  • 185 miles per hour sustained winds of Hurricane Melissa.
  • 8 miles per hour storm speed over Jamaica.
  • 60 inches of rain dumped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
  • 30 inches of rain released by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.
  • 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer Caribbean waters than usual.
  • 900,000 people urged to evacuate in Cuba's eastern provinces.
  • 425,000 people evacuated to shelters in Cuba.
  • 50,000 people expected to move into shelters in Jamaica.
  • 6,000 people evacuated to shelters in Jamaica as of Tuesday morning.

Sources:

  • "Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica with catastrophic winds, rains" by Camille Williams, Frances Robles, David C. Adams, and Sachi Kitajima Mulkey (New York Times)
  • National Hurricane Center
  • Jamaican government officials
  • Pan American Health Organization
  • United Nations
  • Food for the Poor
  • Getty Images
  • Agence France-Presse