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Associated Press

Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 strength on Monday as it neared Jamaica, with a life-threatening storm surge and huge amounts of rain.
Melissa is forecast to make landfall on the island on Tuesday and across Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday.
The storm was moving at a worryingly slow pace, meaning areas in its path could see punishing conditions for far longer than a hurricane that passes by more quickly.
In a warmer world due to climate change, the atmosphere holds more water, worsening heavy rains from tropical systems.
Hurricane Melissa has the force to flatten homes, snap trees and touch off power outages that can last for weeks or months.
It can also push a massive wall of water into the coastline where it comes to shore. About half of all hurricane deaths come from drowning.

Melissa has already wreaked havoc and killed at least three people in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remained missing.
The hurricane was expected to make another landfall later on Tuesday, in eastern Cuba. A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguín provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas.
Up to 20 inches (51cm) of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.
Companies have evacuated workers and the US Navy has pulled non-essential personnel out of its base on Guantanamo Bay.
The US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260kph) and was moving west at 3 mph (6kph).
Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (250kph).

Some areas of Jamaica could get 40 inches (1 metre) of rain, according to the hurricane centre.
“Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely,” it warned.
More than 800 shelters have been opened across Jamaica and local authorities have staged heavy equipment to clear debris from roads.
“I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council. “Do not gamble with Melissa. It’s not a safe bet.”
A record storm
Melissa could be the strongest hurricane Jamaica has experienced in decades, said Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service. He warned that clean-up and damage assessment would be severely delayed because of anticipated landslides, flooding and blocked roads.
It would be the first time in recent history that a storm of Category 4 or higher makes landfall in Jamaica, Thompson said.
“We have not had this experience before, so it’s important for us to consider this as an extraordinary situation,” Thompson told the Jamaica Gleaner.
He noted that Hurricane Gilbert was a Category 3 storm when it hit the island in 1988. Hurricanes Ivan and Beryl were both Category 4, but they did not make landfall.
In addition to the rainfall, Melissa is likely to cause a life-threatening storm surge on Jamaica’s southern coast, peaking around 13 feet (4 metres) above ground level, the US hurricane centre said.

“Don’t make foolish decisions,” warned Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s transport minister. “We are in a very, very serious time over the next few days.”
In the Dominican Republic schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of nine provinces still under red alert.
Melissa has damaged more than 750 homes across the country, displacing more than 3,760 people. Floodwater has also cut access to at least 48 communities, officials said.
In neighbouring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares (37 acres) of maize at a time when at least 5.7 million people, more than half of the country’s population, are experiencing crisis levels of hunger, with 1.9 million of those facing emergency levels of hunger.
“Flooding is obstructing access to farmland and markets, jeopardising harvests and the winter agricultural season,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said.
Melissa was expected to keep dumping torrential rain over southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic in the coming days.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, Tribune News Service


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Catastrophic flash flooding, a metres-high storm surge and landslides are likely, authorities warn


Catastrophic flash flooding, a metres-high storm surge and landslides are likely, authorities warn.


Hurricane Melissa strengthens further as it takes aim at Jamaica

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Catastrophic flash flooding, a metres-high storm surge and landslides are likely, authorities warn

Catastrophic flash flooding, a metres-high storm surge and landslides are likely, authorities warn