Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica
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Melissa underwent extreme rapid intensification, strengthening to a rare Category 5 with winds of 175 mph and stronger gusts, making it the strongest storm on the planet this year. Follow for live updates.
Haiti is expected to see catastrophic flash floods and landslides early next week causing “extensive infrastructural damage and potentially prolonged isolation of communities.” The southwestern peninsula of Haiti, from the border of the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, was placed under a hurricane watch and a tropical-storm warning.
A Sarasota County flight crew prepares to deliver relief supplies to Jamaica later this week as catastrophic Hurricane Melissa slams the island.
Up to 40 inches of rain, 13 feet of storm surge and 160 mph sustained winds will cause “extensive infrastructure damage” that will cut off communities, the National Hurricane Center warned. Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and Jamaica each and one person in the Dominican Republic.