NHC warns of post-storm risks in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa

The Manila Times

NHC warns of post-storm risks in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa  Hurricane Melissa was packing sustained winds of up to 175 mph (282 kph) on Monday afternoon, October 27, as the slow-moving Category 5 storm was on course to barrel into Jamaica, in what could be the largest on record for the Caribbean island. As of 2 p.m. (1800 GMT), Melissa was a "catastrophic" storm, the strongest possible on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The NHC expects Melissa to move over Jamaica late Monday or in the early hours of Tuesday, cross eastern Cuba the following night and move over the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos by Wednesday. The storm's slow movement over unusually tepid Caribbean water had contributed to its ballooning size and strength, NHC forecasters said, threatening Jamaica with days of never-before-seen catastrophic winds and as much as 3 feet of rain.   NOAA / REUTERS VIDEO

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00:00Potentially catastrophic, Category 5, Hurricane Melissa, now located just about 140 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, here in the Caribbean Sea.

00:09A very powerful hurricane this afternoon with maximum sustained winds of around 175 miles per hour.

00:14You see the well-defined eye here in satellite imagery.

00:20Focusing on Jamaica, everybody there needs to remain in safe shelter.

00:24Do not venture outside with catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides expected through Tuesday.

00:31The eye wall will bring destructive winds on shore, not just at the coast, but into mountainous areas as well.

00:36Do not go out in the eye as it passes over your area.

00:40The forward speed of Melissa is going to increase and the eye is going to start to move very quickly across the island.

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