The slow-moving Hurricane Melissa is rapidly intensifying toward Jamaica and then eastern Cuba, with winds of 140 mph. Jamaican authorities have ordered evacuations, while Cuba grapples with prior crises of power outages and shortages. Catastrophic flooding and landslides are expected in the region.
The slow-moving Hurricane Melissa poses a dangerous threat with catastrophic winds and accumulated rains set to cause flooding and landslides in Jamaica and eastern Cuba. At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday, the storm's center was located about 110 miles (180 km) south of Kingston, Jamaica, and 280 miles (445 km) south-southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, moving west at just 3 mph (5 kph).
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged residents on Saturday to stock up and prepare, warning that conditions would deteriorate starting Sunday. He called for evacuations in low-lying and vulnerable areas, as the entire island is expected to be affected. The latest forecast shows Melissa crossing Jamaica from Tuesday morning, before impacting eastern Cuba late Tuesday or Wednesday.
Cuba is already in severe crisis mode without the hurricane: power outages outside Havana exceed 15 hours daily, reaching 22 hours or more in the east, alongside acute shortages of drinking water, food, medicines, and public transportation. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reports winds of 140 mph (220 kph), with outer bands already impacting Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. A hurricane warning is in effect for all of Jamaica, and a watch for southwestern Haiti and Cuba's provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.
The U.S. Navy at the Guantanamo base has been evacuating non-essential military personnel, families, and civilian contractors to Florida since Friday, expanding the order on Saturday to all non-mission-essential U.S. citizens, with possible housing for up to two weeks. While land interaction could alter its path, authorities expect Melissa to strike both Jamaica and Cuba as a major hurricane, akin to the deadly 1998 Hurricane Mitch that caused thousands of deaths from flooding and landslides in Central America.