Kingston (AFP) — Jamaican officials urged the public to get to higher ground and shelters ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s expected landfall Tuesday, with the prime minister warning it could bring massive devastation.
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.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Melissa was still 240 kilometers from Kingston late Monday, and reaching maximum wind speeds of 175 miles per hour.
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.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing such massive storms to become increasingly common in the region.
Local government minister Desmond McKenzie said Monday evening that of the island’s 880-odd shelters standing by, only 133 were hosting locals.
They “should be seeing people now,” McKenzie said, adding: “I want to urge persons in these parishes to get to high ground as quickly as possible.”
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the island’s western end faced the worst destruction.
“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.
But despite pleas to evacuate, many Jamaican residents were staying put.
“I am not moving. I don’t believe I can run from death,” Roy Brown told Agence France-Press in Kingston’s seaside area of Port Royal.