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Hurricane Melissa brought dangerous flooding and storm surge to Cuba on Wednesday after leaving Jamaica with widespread power outages and causing flooding that killed 25 people in Haiti, officials say.Jean Bertrand Subrème, mayor of the southern Haitian coastal town of Petit-Goâve, told The Associated Press that 25 people died after La Digue river burst its banks and flooded nearby homes.Dozens of homes collapsed and people were still trapped under rubble as of Wednesday morning, he said.“I am overwhelmed by the situation,” he said as he pleaded with the government to help rescue victims.Only one official from Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency was in the area, with residents struggling to evacuate amid heavy floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Melissa in recent days.At least one death was reported in Jamaica, where Melissa roared ashore Tuesday with top sustained winds of 185 mph, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. A tree fell on a baby in the island nation’s west, state minister Abka Fitz-Henley told local radio station Nationwide News Network, adding that most destruction was concentrated in the southwest and northwest.“That was hell. All night long, it was terrible,” said Reinaldo Charon in Santiago de Cuba. The 52-year-old was one of the few people venturing out Wednesday, covered by a plastic sheet in the intermittent rain.Parts of Granma province, especially the municipal capital, Jiguaní, were underwater, said Gov. Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez. More than 15 inches of rain was reported in Jiguaní’s settlement of Charco Redondo.Officials reported collapsed houses, blocked mountain roads and roofs blown off. Authorities said about 735,000 people remained in shelters in eastern Cuba. Melissa had top sustained winds of 100 mph, a Category 2 storm, and was moving northeast at 14 mph according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was centered about 150 miles south of the central Bahamas.Melissa was forecast to continue weakening as it crossed Cuba but remain strong as it moves across the southeastern or central Bahamas later Wednesday. It was expected to make its way late Thursday near or to the west of Bermuda. Haiti and the Turks and Caicos also braced for its effects.The storm was expected to generate a surge of up to 12 feet in the region and drop up to 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba. Intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, U.S. forecasters said.Jamaica rushes to assess the damageJamaican officials reported complications in assessing the damage, while the National Hurricane Center said the local government had lifted the tropical storm warning.“There’s a total communication blackout on that side,” Richard Thompson, acting director general of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, told the Nationwide News Network. More than half a million customers were without power late Tuesday.Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in the south and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “underwater,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council. He said the storm damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients.Video above: Jamaican police station turned into shelter in hard-hit areaSanta Cruz town in St. Elizabeth parish was devastated. A landslide blocked main roads. Streets were reduced to mud pits. Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Winds ripped off part of the roof at St. Elizabeth Technical High School, a designated public shelter.“I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” resident Jennifer Small said.“The entire hillside came down last night,” said another resident, Robert James.The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.The U.S. government said it was deploying a disaster response team and search and rescue personnel to the region. And the State Department said non-emergency personnel and family members of U.S. government employees were authorized to leave Jamaica because of the storm’s impact.
Hurricane Melissa brought dangerous flooding and storm surge to Cuba on Wednesday after leaving Jamaica with widespread power outages and causing flooding that killed 25 people in Haiti, officials say.
Jean Bertrand Subrème, mayor of the southern Haitian coastal town of Petit-Goâve, told The Associated Press that 25 people died after La Digue river burst its banks and flooded nearby homes.
Dozens of homes collapsed and people were still trapped under rubble as of Wednesday morning, he said.
“I am overwhelmed by the situation,” he said as he pleaded with the government to help rescue victims.
Only one official from Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency was in the area, with residents struggling to evacuate amid heavy floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Melissa in recent days.
At least one death was reported in Jamaica, where Melissa roared ashore Tuesday with top sustained winds of 185 mph, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. A tree fell on a baby in the island nation’s west, state minister Abka Fitz-Henley told local radio station Nationwide News Network, adding that most destruction was concentrated in the southwest and northwest.
“That was hell. All night long, it was terrible,” said Reinaldo Charon in Santiago de Cuba. The 52-year-old was one of the few people venturing out Wednesday, covered by a plastic sheet in the intermittent rain.
Parts of Granma province, especially the municipal capital, Jiguaní, were underwater, said Gov. Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez. More than 15 inches of rain was reported in Jiguaní’s settlement of Charco Redondo.
Officials reported collapsed houses, blocked mountain roads and roofs blown off. Authorities said about 735,000 people remained in shelters in eastern Cuba.
Melissa had top sustained winds of 100 mph, a Category 2 storm, and was moving northeast at 14 mph according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was centered about 150 miles south of the central Bahamas.
Melissa was forecast to continue weakening as it crossed Cuba but remain strong as it moves across the southeastern or central Bahamas later Wednesday. It was expected to make its way late Thursday near or to the west of Bermuda. Haiti and the Turks and Caicos also braced for its effects.
The storm was expected to generate a surge of up to 12 feet in the region and drop up to 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba. Intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, U.S. forecasters said.
Jamaica rushes to assess the damage
Jamaican officials reported complications in assessing the damage, while the National Hurricane Center said the local government had lifted the tropical storm warning.
“There’s a total communication blackout on that side,” Richard Thompson, acting director general of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, told the Nationwide News Network. More than half a million customers were without power late Tuesday.
Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in the south and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “underwater,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council. He said the storm damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients.
Video above: Jamaican police station turned into shelter in hard-hit area
Santa Cruz town in St. Elizabeth parish was devastated. A landslide blocked main roads. Streets were reduced to mud pits. Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Winds ripped off part of the roof at St. Elizabeth Technical High School, a designated public shelter.
“I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” resident Jennifer Small said.
“The entire hillside came down last night,” said another resident, Robert James.
The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.
The U.S. government said it was deploying a disaster response team and search and rescue personnel to the region. And the State Department said non-emergency personnel and family members of U.S. government employees were authorized to leave Jamaica because of the storm’s impact.
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