After Hurricane Melissa slammed across the Caribbean island as one of the strongest storms ever to pass, leaving behind a trail of destruction, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has labeled Jamaica a “disaster area.”
Most of the country’s 2.8 million people were without electricity as a result of the hurricane’s landfall as a Category 5 storm on Tuesday, which wiped out the roofs of homes, inundated the “bread basket,” and destroyed power lines and trees.
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Melissa had to pass through Jamaica before it was reduced to a Category 3 storm before it resumed its course on Wednesday, heading Cuba.
In a number of posts on X, Holness claimed that the storm had “ravaged” his nation and that the disaster declaration would give his government “tools to continue managing” its response.
He told CNN late on Tuesday that it was obvious that the hurricane’s eye would have a devastating impact. “Reports we have received so far include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property, and damage to our road infrastructure.”
Holness claimed that at this time there are no confirmed reports of fatalities. However, he continued, “We are anticipating some loss of life with a Category 5 hurricane.”
By Wednesday morning, the prime minister claimed his country was mobilizing quickly to begin relief and recovery efforts.
The hurricane caused seven fatalities before Melissa slammed into Jamaica, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic.
The storm had impacted almost every parish in Jamaica, according to Desmond McKenzie, the island’s local government minister, on Tuesday evening, and left the majority of the island without electricity.
He claimed that the parish of St. Elizabeth, the nation’s primary agricultural region, was “under water” as a result of the storm.
According to what we have seen, “St. Elizabeth has sustained a lot,” the minister continued, noting that “almost every parish experiences blocked roads, fallen trees, utility poles, and excessive flooding in many communities.”
He continued, “Work is currently on the way to restore our service, to prioritize the crucial facilities, such as hospitals and water and pumping stations.”
Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton reported to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper that at least four hospitals had been “significantly damaged” by the storm.
Due to Hurricane Melissa’s passing, a building at a section of the Savanna La Mar Public General Hospital had completely torn off. In Westmoreland, Jamaica, the system made landfall earlier today near the New Hope district. #GLNRToday #TrackingMelissa image twitter.com/zBnm9bu4Oq
“Monstrous Melissa”
The storm was the “worst we’ve ever experienced,” according to Robian Williams, a journalist for the Nationwide News Network radio broadcaster in Kingston.
From the capital, she said, “It’s truly heartbreaking and devastating.”
“We’re calling Hurricane Melissa “Monstrous Melissa” here in Jamaica because that’s how powerful she was. … The devastation is widespread, mostly being felt and still being felt in the western ends of the country at this point in time. So many homes, so many people have been displaced,” she said.
“We did prepare, but there wasn’t much else we could have done.”
Trout Hall Road, Clarendon, is the location of the CVMTV photo, “TrackingMelissa #HurricaneMelissa #Jamaica.” twitter.com/bTop93pOvp
Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist, claimed that the storm had destroyed her home in Kingston.
She told the AFP news agency, “My sister explained that some of our roof’s components were blown off, while others caved in, and the entire house was flooded.” “Outside structures like our outdoor kitchen, dog kennel, and farm animal pens were also gone, destroyed,” said one employee.
Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP that the capital’s residents were “lucky,” but he worried about the residents of Jamaica’s more rural areas.
He expressed his condolences to the island’s western residents.
Melissa reshapes
On Tuesday night, the US National Hurricane Center received a warning that Melissa was regaining speed as it moved toward eastern Cuba.
At 11 p.m. CST on Tuesday (03:00 GMT on Wednesday), the center warned that “there is a very dangerous major hurricane there” as a potential major hurricane in the next few hours.
More than 700, 000 people have been evacuated from Cuba, according to Granma, the official newspaper, and forecasters predicted that Santiago de Cuba and other nearby areas will suffer severe damage as a result of the Category 4 storm.
Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and the southeast and central Bahamas were both subject to a hurricane warning. Bermuda was in the midst of a hurricane watch.
Up to 51cm (20 inches) of rain were forecast for parts of eastern Cuba as a result of the storm, which was expected to cause a storm surge of up to 3.6 meters (12 feet) in the area.
There will be a lot of work to be done, he declared. In a televised address, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said, “We know there will be a lot of damage, and no one is left behind, and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population.”
He urged Cubans to not underestimate the strength of Hurricane Melissa, which he described as “the strongest ever to strike national territory.”
Changes in climate
Although hurricanes have been common in Cuba and Jamaica, climate change is making them more severe.
In a video that was shared on social media, British-Jamaican author and activist Mikaela Loach claimed Melissa “gained energy from the extraordinarily hot seas in the Caribbean.”
Loach claimed that these sea temperatures are not typical. They are “extremely hot” due to the gases produced by fossil fuel burning.
“Countries like Jamaica are also the nations whose wealth and resources have been taken from them through colonial bondage,” Loach continued. “These nations are the most vulnerable to climate disasters.
Holness urged wealthy nations to increase climate financing in order to aid developing nations like Jamaica in adjusting to the effects of a warming world during a speech at the UN General Assembly in September.
“Changes in climate is not a distant threat or an academic consideration. It is a daily reality for small island developing states like Jamaica,” he said.
Global warming is only caused by 0.02 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to World Resources Institute data.
Source: Aljazeera
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