In Haiti, where gang conflict has displaced over 1.3m people, authorities says more than 1,000 homes flooded
\n HAVANA\/KINGSTON
\nHurricane Melissa barreled through the Caribbean on Wednesday after thrashing Cuba\u2019s second-biggest city, isolating hundreds of rural communities, unleashing devastation in Jamaica and drenching Haiti, where at least 25 were killed.
\nMelissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday as the strongest-ever hurricane to directly hit its shores, with sustained winds of 185 mph (298 kph), well above the minimum strength for a Category 5, the strongest classification for hurricanes.
\nAs of 2100 GMT on Wednesday, Melissa was a Category 1 hurricane moving north-east through the Bahamas archipelago, which completed the air evacuation of nearly 1,500 people early.
\nThe storm did not directly hit Haiti, the Caribbean\u2019s most populous nation, but it hurled days of rain over the island nation. Authorities reported at least 25 deaths, largely due to floods in Petit-Goave, a coastal town 64 km (40 miles) west of the capital where a river burst its banks.
\nAt least 10 children were killed there and 12 people remain missing there, Haiti\u2019s disaster management agency said.
\nIn Haiti, where a gang conflict has displaced over 1.3 million people, authorities said more than 1,000 homes were flooded. People living in makeshift camps said the flooding made it impossible to sit or sleep, and said the government and aid groups were slow to bring supplies.
\nFortune Vital, a displaced man in Les Cayes, said he was separated from his family which already lacked sufficient food. \u201cIf the hurricane comes on top of all the problems we already have, we\u2019ll simply die,\u201d he said.
\n\u2018Like missiles blowing through the glass\u2019
\nOn Tuesday, Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica, devastating areas already battered by last year\u2019s Hurricane Beryl. US forecaster AccuWeather estimated Melissa cost $22 billion in damages and economic loss in Jamaica alone, and that rebuilding could take a decade or more.
\nLocal authorities said flood waters had washed up four bodies in the southwestern agricultural hub of St. Elizabeth. About 77% of Jamaica was without electricity, authorities said on Wednesday morning. The capital Kingston was spared the worst damage and its main airport was set to reopen Thursday.
\nPrime Minister Andrew Holness visited Black River Hospital, the only public hospital in St. Elizabeth, where aerial footage showed the wrecks of buildings, roofs blown off, power cables knocked down and fields strewn with rubble.
\nHospital workers there said the building showed some significant damage, and staff told the prime minister they spent the night fearing for their own families while working by flashlight to care for patients.
\n\u201cIt was the most terrifying experience in all my life,\u201d a hospital worker said. \u201cIt is beyond imagining. At one point it was as if missiles were blowing through the glass.\u201d
\nJamaica\u2019s government gave an \u201call clear\u201d to begin recovery efforts, but said it would keep emergency shelters open through the week as people kept coming in from devastated homes.
\nLocal government minister Desmond McKenzie said over 25,000 people had been admitted. \u201cNo one must be turned back from the shelters,\u201d he said.
\nMass evacuations in Cuba
\nMelissa was a still major Category 3 when it hit Cubaovernight with winds of 120 mph, landing in Guama, a rural, mountainous area some 25 miles (40 km) west of Santiago de Cuba, the island\u2019s second-most populous city.
\nAt least 241 communities remained isolated and without communications on Wednesday following the storm\u2019s passage across Santiago province, according to preliminary media reports, affecting as many as 140,000 residents.
\nAcross eastern Cuba, authorities evacuated around 735,000 people as the storm approached. Most remained in emergency centers.
\nNo deaths were reported on Wednesday but President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island had suffered extensive damage and warned of vigilance as rains continue to lash the region.
\n\u201cA major hurricane landfall in the dark is incredibly dangerous,\u201d AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said.
\n\u201cThe storm lost wind intensity as it interacted with the mountains of southeast Cuba, but the forced upward motion of the air over the mountainous terrain is squeezing out tremendous amounts of rainfall.\u201d
\nCuban officials also warned of severe impact on crops ahead of the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s winter growing season.
\nCuba was already suffering from food, fuel, electricity and medicine shortages that have complicated life, prompting record-breaking emigration since 2021.
\nOn Wednesday, the UN General Assembly again voted overwhelmingly for the US to end its Cold War-era economic embargo on the communist-run country.
\nLoss and damage
\nMeteorologists at AccuWeather said Melissa ranked as the third-most intense hurricane observed in the Caribbean, after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988\u2013the last major storm to directly hit Jamaica.
\nBut scientists say hurricanes are intensifying faster with greater frequency as a result of warming ocean waters caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries.
\nThe Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, a branch of regional bloc CARICOM, issued a statement in solidarity of those affected by Hurricane Melissa and called for stronger efforts to curb climate change.
\nIt said Melissa\u2019s rapid intensification, fueled by record-breaking Caribbean sea temperatures, underscored need for the U.N.\u2019s \u201closs and damage\u201d fund to be scaled up.
\nThe fund was established in 2023 as a mechanism for developing nations to quickly and reliably access financing to recover from more frequent extreme weather events. However, donations from wealthy, polluting nations have fallen short of targets and the US withdrew from its board in March.
\nThe devastation caused by Melissa drew an outpouring of support from across the world, with some countries pledging support in the form of cash, food aid and rescue teams.
\nIn Montego Bay, a popular Jamaican tourist destination, a resident told Reuters the water reached her waist and rescuers had to break into her home to save her and her child.
\n\u201cAll the trees that my dad planted, all of them are gone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Haiti, where gang conflict has displaced over 1.3m people, authorities says more than 1,000 homes flooded HAVANA\/KINGSTON Hurricane Melissa barreled through the Caribbean on Wednesday after thrashing Cuba\u2019s second-biggest city, isolating hundreds of rural communities, unleashing devastation in Jamaica and drenching Haiti, where at least 25 were killed. Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-511692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n