Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, struck Jamaica on Tuesday with powerful winds of 295 km/h, causing massive flooding, power cuts, and damage to buildings across the island. It made landfall near New Hope as a Category 5 hurricane — the most powerful type — and quickly became one of the worst natural disasters in Jamaica’s recorded history.
Roaring winds tore off roofs, landslides blocked roads, and boulders tumbled onto highways, especially in the southwestern region of St Elizabeth, which officials said was almost completely underwater. Around 540,000 people lost electricity, and about 15,000 were forced to seek shelter in emergency centres.
Floodwaters trapped several families in their homes in Black River, but dangerous conditions made it too risky for rescue teams to reach them. “Roofs were flying off,” said Desmond McKenzie, a leader in Jamaica’s disaster response team, as he urged patience and prayers.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed that no building in the region is strong enough to stand up to a Category 5 hurricane and said the next challenge would be how quickly the island could recover. Meanwhile, the storm has already been blamed for at least three deaths in Jamaica and more across the region.
Meteorologists were shocked by how quickly Melissa grew stronger. It reached speeds of nearly 300 km/h — tying records from other massive hurricanes like 2019’s Hurricane Dorian. Even though Melissa hovered near Jamaica’s mountains, which usually weaken storms, it didn’t slow down.
Experts say unusually warm ocean water helped fuel Melissa’s rapid growth. Some parts of the ocean were more than 2°C hotter than normal. Scientists believe global warming may be making such super-powerful storms more common.
Melissa is now heading toward Cuba, where people are also preparing for strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surges. Officials there have evacuated hundreds of thousands of people to safety.
Across the Caribbean, hospitals, schools, and emergency teams are bracing for what comes next. The recovery is expected to take time, but communities are already coming together to support one another.
wow that sounds scary what if a sea moster got them and there dead
That’s sick bro, also i’m in the titanic rn i’ll let you guys in.
All I did was get some vocab from this
what thats scery and cool
is it a brake down or what.What if they catch rabies
250,000 that is expensive !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
WOW that is cool but i would not want to be down there
hmmmmmm huant much? also WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE 4 DAYS!!!!!!?
lets all pray they can be found
Lets all hope they are alright and saved
Guys say RIP in chat
I think that this is very scary and i hope that they will find the people in the submarine!
I think that the people won’t have much hope of survival because they only have a day left
i hope they survive
That would be scary
I hope those people are ok.
That is so interesting and cool!
I heard about this on the new crazy!
This is so interesting!
RIP there dead they are not coming up
oh no i hope they are found and i hope that there arent any childs on there
I wonder if they will be found in time
Oh my what if they perished!
oh no! thats sad along with the titanic
5 people that died from an implode seems sad, but it could be worse. they were lucky it was quick or they might of sufficated to death. but I will point it out, they did know it wasn’t tested and they knew it was a dangerous decision.
My friend was updating me on it last night and it turns out, they imploded. Rest in pieces. I meant rest in peace.