On his way to South Korea, United States President Donald Trump said he would help Jamaica recover after Hurricane Melissa, which caused the “storm of the century” on the Caribbean island.
“For humanitarian reasons, we have to do this. So, we are monitoring closely and prepared to act. [o furacão] it is causing tremendous damage,” said the Republican aboard the presidential plane bound for Seoul.
On Tuesday (28), Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a “catastrophe zone” due to the serious damage caused by the hurricane.
The Minister of Community Development and responsible for disaster response, Desmond McKenzie, detailed in a press conference that widespread flooding, landslides and serious damage to critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and roads, were reported.
Powerful Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica on Tuesday with winds of up to 295 kilometers per hour, torrential rain and waves that caused flooding and catastrophic damage, especially in the southwest of the island. According to Jamaican authorities, the eye of the hurricane reached the mainland at 12:02 pm local time (2 pm in Brasília), in Westmoreland, a district bordering Saint Elizabeth.
This was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the Atlantic since 2019, when Dorian hit the Bahamas. Melissa was stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which reached category 5 when it passed through the Gulf of Mexico and devastated the southern United States in 2005.
Now, Melissa, reduced to category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is causing floods and landslides in eastern Cuba, according to preliminary official information and reports on social media. The powerful hurricane hit the east coast of Cuba this Wednesday morning (29), accompanied by strong winds, intense rain and a large cyclonic tide.
According to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), Melissa touched down with winds approaching 195 kilometers/hour near the city of Chivirico, close to Santiago de Cuba, the second most populous city in the country. More than 700,000 people were evacuated to shelters on the island, according to local authorities.
The Cuban regime warned that it was an “extremely dangerous” hurricane due to the likelihood of flash floods, landslides, sea penetration into low-lying coastal areas, landslides and dam failures.
