Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in eastern Cuba as dangerous Cat 3 storm

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Cuba’s southern coast near Santiago de Cuba early Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 storm, bringing torrential rainfall and flooding to the island’s eastern provinces.

The hurricane’s center struck near the coastal town of Chivirico in the municipality of Guamá, Santiago de Cuba province, at 3:05 a.m. local time, Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology reported. Chivirico is about 40 miles southeast of Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second largest city.

Though Melissa weakened slightly after barreling over Jamaica, it remains an extremely dangerous storm. At landfall, the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 121 miles per hour, according to Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology.

Strong swells with waves between 13 and 20 feet have been battering the southern coasts of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo provinces, according to the Institute. The National Hurricane Center reported that peak storm surge could reach 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels near and to the east of where the center made landfall, accompanied by large and destructive waves.

Melissa is expected to weaken slightly as it moves across Santiago de Cuba and Holguín provinces before exiting near the municipality of Banes in Holguín province Wednesday morning. Dangerous surf and flooding are expected to spread to the northern coastline of the eastern region beginning Wednesday morning, according to Cuba’s Institute of Meteorology.

Electricity was cut off in those provinces since early evening on Tuesday. A few videos circulating online and published by Cuban state media show flooding in Chivirico and other areas battered by the hurricane.

Cuban authorities said that more than 735,000 people had been evacuated, most of them with relatives and neighbors. In a televised message, the country’s leader Miguel Díaz-Canel urged the population to follow instructions.

“There must be good citizen behavior, creating an atmosphere of solidarity, cooperation, and respect for the measures that have been implemented so that we do not have to lament, firstly, the loss of human lives, and secondly, that the impacts and material damages can be mitigated,” he said.

This developing story will be updated.