Hurricane Melissa hit the southern coast of eastern Cuba early in the morning of Wednesday carrying with it devastating winds, torrential rain, and life-threatening storm surges, only a few hours after causing havoc in Jamaica. It is said that the storm was extremely dangerous and that when it hit Santiago de Cuba, it had maintained a 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour sustained wind, despite dropping to a Category 3 hurricane.
The most recent update issued by the NHC on X (previously twitter) states that, Melissa is causing the destruction of damaging winds, flooding precipitation, and hazardous storm surges, as it traverses eastern Cuba. Cuban government announced some of the provinces in the east as emergency areas and residents were advised to prepare to expect flash floods and landslides.
Officials reported that more than 735 thousands of citizens were displaced prior to the storm. President Miguel Diaz-Canel encouraged the people to be alert and follow safety and evacuation protocols to the letter. The damage to be caused by the hurricane will be great. Our first consideration is saving lives as he said in one of the televised speeches.
Jamaica was only declared a disaster zone just a day before, with the Hurricane Melissa damaging the island in the form of a Category 5 storm, the strongest ever in the history of the nation. The storm destroyed property, felled down trees and brought down power cuts in various parishes. The emergency services are still surveying the level of damages as severe flooding and collapse of infrastructure have been reported in several areas.
Meteorologists had also warned that despite the fact that it is weakening, Melissa remains a significant danger since it will continue to travel farther into the interior of Cuba and dump more than 15 inches of rain in certain areas creating disastrous flooding. In Jamaica as well as Cuba, relief operations are going on with international aid agencies planning to react to the aftermath.
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News