Hurricane Melissa Takes Aim At Cuba After Roaring Across Jamaica

ETVBHARAT

Jamaica's Government Minister McKenzie said several hospitals had been damaged, including in hard-hit southwestern district of Saint Elizabeth, a coastal area he described as "underwater."

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00:00Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica as one of

00:08the most powerful hurricanes on record. The destructive storm struck Jamaica with ferocious

00:13sustained winds, clocking 185 miles per hour on its deadly march across the Caribbean.

00:22The scale of Melissa's damage in Jamaica wasn't yet clear, as a comprehensive assessment could

00:28take days and much of the island was still without power, with communication networks badly disrupted.

00:34Seven deaths across multiple nations have been reported so far.

00:40Caused by the storm now downgraded from category 4 to 5 as it is set to hit Cuba next.

00:48Jamaica's climate change minister said that Hurricane Melissa's effect was catastrophic,

00:55citing flooded homes and severely damaged public infrastructure and hospitals.

01:13The mammoth storm could leave devastation on the scale of some of the worst hurricanes in recent

01:18memory, like Catriona, Maria or Harvey. Jamaican Red Cross, which was distributing drinking water

01:26and hygiene kits ahead of infrastructure disruptions, said Melissa's slow nature excavated the anxiety.

01:34The UN is planning an airlift of some 2,000 relief kits to Jamaica from a relief supply

01:40of the United States station in Barbados once air travel is possible.

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