Hurricane Melissa has slammed into Cuba after leaving parts of neighbouring Jamaica broken and reeling from ferocious winds and extreme rainfall.
The most intense tropical cyclone to hit Jamaica in nearly two centuries, Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes observed since record-keeping began. Climate scientists say human-caused global heating has contributed to the rapid intensification of modern-day storms.
Many Jamaicans woke up on Wednesday without power, with reports of whole neighbourhoods submerged. The prime minister, Andrew Holness, has declared the country a disaster area, giving authorities extra powers such as issuing mandatory evacuation orders for flooded regions and preventing price gouging.
Massive damage was reported across the island, much of it in the western parts, where the category 5 cyclonic storm moved diagonally across ground at a slow pace, ripping roofs from buildings and flipping over cars. Photos showed a tree ripped out of the ground by the roots and roads submerged by gravel and earth.
Jamaica’s minister of local government, Desmond McKenzie, said the hurricane was “one of the worst experiences that [Jamaica] has ever encountered”.
“Our infrastructure has been severely compromised,” he said. “The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa.” There are close to 15,000 people in shelters and more than 530,000 without electricity, in a country of 2.8 million.
Alexander Pendry, the global response manager at the British Red Cross, said early indications suggested Melissa was “a disaster of unprecedented catastrophe for the island”.
The priority of the Jamaica Red Cross, he said, was to bring aid to people as soon as possible. “Tragically, experience tells us that the impact on communities and individuals will be shattering and long lasting,” he added.
Despite not being in the direct path of the hurricane, other Caribbean countries have been affected. Authorities in nearby Haiti said at least 10 people have been killed in related floods. La Digue River, in the coastal town of Petit-Goâve, overflowed its banks, sweeping away several people.
A category 5 hurricane is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds exceeding 157mph (250km/h), but the US National Hurricane Center reported that Melissa carried sustained wind speeds of 185mph (298km/h) when it hit Jamaica.
Even after losing some power and being downgraded to a category 3 storm, Melissa could still be catastrophic for Cuba.
Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said on Wednesday that Melissa had wreaked “extensive damage” after it made landfall overnight on the island country’s southern coast.
“It has been a very difficult early morning,” Díaz-Canel said on social media. “Extensive damage and Hurricane Melissa is still over Cuban territory. I urge our people not to let their guard down, to maintain discipline and to remain safely sheltered.”
More than 735,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after forecasters warned the low-pressure system would unleash catastrophic damage in Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city.
Melissa is expected to cross the island throughout the morning and move into the Bahamas later on Wednesday.
Climate scientists have said the intensification of Hurricane Melissa – with winds doubling from 70mph to 140mph in just a day – is probably a symptom of the rapid heating of the world’s oceans, part of the human-driven climate crisis.
Many Caribbean leaders have called on riche, heavy-polluting governments to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries.
