Hurricane Melissa left dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, fallen utility poles and water-logged furniture dominated the landscape Wednesday.
A landslide blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz in Jamaica’s St. Elizabeth parish, where the streets were reduced to mud pits.
Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Winds ripped off part of the roof at a local high school, which is designated as a public shelter.
Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm with top winds of 295 kph, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, before weakening and moving on to Cuba. Still, even countries outside the storm’s direct path felt its devastating effects.
In Haiti, flooding from Melissa killed at least 25 people in the southern coastal town of Petit-Goâves. Mayor Jean Bertrand Subrème said dozens of homes collapsed when the La Digue River burst its banks, and people were still trapped under rubble on Wednesday morning.
Officials reported collapsed houses, blocked mountain roads and roofs blown off in Cuba on Wednesday, with the most destruction concentrated in the southwest and northwest. Authorities said about 735,000 people remained in shelters in eastern Cuba.
In Jamaica, more than 25,000 people were packed into shelters on Wednesday and more streamed in throughout the day after the storm ripped roofs off their homes and left them temporarily homeless. Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s education minister, said that 77% of the island was without power on Wednesday.
Jamaican officials reported complications in assessing the damage because of outages, noting that “a total communication blackout” occurred in areas.
At least one death was reported in Jamaica’s west when a tree fell on a baby.
The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure the quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.
In Cuba, parts of Granma province, especially the municipal capital, Jiguaní, were underwater, Gov. Yanetsy Terry Gutiérre said. More than 15 inches (40 centimetres) of rain was reported in Jiguaní’s settlement of Charco Redondo.
The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which has already led to prolonged power blackouts and fuel and food shortages.
Melissa’s centre is forecast to move through the southeastern Bahamas later Wednesday, generating up to 7 feet (2 meters) of storm surge in the area. By late Thursday, Melissa is expected to pass just west of Bermuda.
Story by: Isaac Clottey
