At least 200 British citizens are currently confined in a Jamaican hotel as Hurricane Melissa, a dangerous Category 5 storm, approaches the Caribbean island. With sustained winds exceeding 157mph, Melissa poses a severe threat of heavy rainfall and destructive winds to Jamaica.
Having already devastated neighboring islands like the Dominican Republic and Haiti, causing six fatalities and displacing thousands, the storm is anticipated to reach Jamaica overnight or early Tuesday morning with even stronger winds than previously experienced.
British tourist Andrew Tracey, who arrived in Jamaica a week ago, shared his experience of being restricted to his hotel room until at least Wednesday due to flight cancellations affecting him and around 200 other British nationals. Jamaica’s international airports have been shut down since Sunday.
Expressing his unease, Andrew stated that had he known about the impending hurricane, he would not have traveled to Jamaica. The anxiety in the hotel is palpable, with both tourists and locals feeling the tension of facing a Category 5 hurricane for the first time.
According to Evan Thompson, the principal director of Jamaica’s meteorological service, Hurricane Melissa could be the most powerful storm to hit Jamaica in decades. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the entire island a threatened area under the Disaster Risk Management Act in preparation for the storm’s impact.
With the hurricane now a Category 5 system and inching closer to Kingston, Prime Minister Holness emphasized the likelihood of Jamaica experiencing hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding. The government has activated shelters, emergency response teams, and allocated over $400 million for drainage cleaning, preparedness, and relief initiatives.
The Foreign Office issued a warning about Hurricane Melissa’s expected landfall in Jamaica on October 28, highlighting the potential for extreme rainfall, storm surges, high winds, flash floods, and landslides. The Jamaican government has closed its international airports until further notice in response to the impending threat.
Named Melissa by the US National Hurricane Center and the World Meteorological Organization, the storm follows the rotating six-year cycle of tropical storm names and may lead to the retirement of the name if it causes significant damage.