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Tag: storm preparation

  • Hurricane Melissa leaves 25 dead in Haiti, causes widespread damage in Jamaica and Cuba

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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.

    SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba —

    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

    intensity models show how strong the storm is forecast to become

    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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  • Jamaica braces for catastrophic damage as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa approaches

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    Hurricane Melissa was set to pummel Jamaica on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago.The storm was expected to make landfall early Tuesday and slice diagonally across the island, entering near St. Elizabeth parish in the south and exiting around St. Ann parish in the north, forecasters said.Hours before the storm, the government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage.“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were reported ahead of the storm, with officials in Jamaica cautioning that the cleanup and damage assessment would be slow.A life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet is expected across southern Jamaica, with officials concerned about the impact on some hospitals along the coastline. Health Minister Christopher Tufton said some patients were relocated from the ground floor to the second floor, “and (we) hope that will suffice for any surge that will take place.”The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. Jamaica braces for catastrophic damageMelissa was centered about 115 miles southwest of Kingston and about 290 miles southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and was moving north-northeast at 5 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.“We will get through it together,” said Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service.Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps adviser based near Kingston, said most families are sheltering in place despite the government ordering evacuations in flood-prone communities.“Many have never experienced anything like this before, and the uncertainty is frightening,” he said. “There is profound fear of losing homes and livelihoods, of injury, and of displacement.”Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s water and environment minister, said he had more than 50 generators available to deploy after the storm, but warned people to set aside clean water and use it sparingly.“Every drop will count,” he said.Melissa takes aim at CubaMelissa also was expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba late Tuesday as a powerful hurricane.A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.Cuban officials said Monday that they were evacuating more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.Melissa also has drenched the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a tropical storm warning still in effect for Haiti.The hurricane was forecast to turn northeast after Cuba and strike the southeast Bahamas by Wednesday evening.A hurricane warning was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

    PORT ROYAL, Kingston Parish —

    Hurricane Melissa was set to pummel Jamaica on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago.

    The storm was expected to make landfall early Tuesday and slice diagonally across the island, entering near St. Elizabeth parish in the south and exiting around St. Ann parish in the north, forecasters said.

    Hours before the storm, the government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage.

    “There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”

    Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were reported ahead of the storm, with officials in Jamaica cautioning that the cleanup and damage assessment would be slow.

    A life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet is expected across southern Jamaica, with officials concerned about the impact on some hospitals along the coastline. Health Minister Christopher Tufton said some patients were relocated from the ground floor to the second floor, “and (we) hope that will suffice for any surge that will take place.”

    The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

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    Jamaica braces for catastrophic damage

    Melissa was centered about 115 miles southwest of Kingston and about 290 miles southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and was moving north-northeast at 5 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

    “We will get through it together,” said Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service.

    Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps adviser based near Kingston, said most families are sheltering in place despite the government ordering evacuations in flood-prone communities.

    “Many have never experienced anything like this before, and the uncertainty is frightening,” he said. “There is profound fear of losing homes and livelihoods, of injury, and of displacement.”

    Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s water and environment minister, said he had more than 50 generators available to deploy after the storm, but warned people to set aside clean water and use it sparingly.

    “Every drop will count,” he said.

    hurricane

    intensity models show how strong the storm is forecast to become

    Melissa takes aim at Cuba

    Melissa also was expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba late Tuesday as a powerful hurricane.

    A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.

    Cuban officials said Monday that they were evacuating more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.

    Melissa also has drenched the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a tropical storm warning still in effect for Haiti.

    The hurricane was forecast to turn northeast after Cuba and strike the southeast Bahamas by Wednesday evening.

    A hurricane warning was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

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