Hurricane Melissa could be Jamaica’s most powerful storm in history

Jamaican officials issued dire warnings Saturday as Hurricane Melissa barrels toward the island, poised to become the strongest storm ever recorded there.

U.S. forecasters said Melissa is rapidly intensifying Saturday and is likely to achieve Category 5 status within 48 hours, the most potent of five hurricane force categories, with sustained winds of at least 157 mph.

The National Hurricane Center forecasters said in Saturday’s 5 p.m. ET forecast discussion that the center’s computer models are in increasing agreement that Melissa will make “a direct landfall in Jamaica,” likely early Tuesday.

“Do not take this lightly,” said Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport. “Do not make foolish decisions. Do not make stupid decisions like coming out into the middle of the storm to see what’s happening.”

All airports in Jamaica will close at 8 p.m. Saturday, Vaz said. The last flight of the day will still be allowed to land if delayed, but all flights after that will be suspended until further notice.

The hurricane center said Melissa will become a major, Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 111 mph to 129 mph or greater by Sunday.

At Category 4 strength, Melissa would be the strongest recorded storm to ever pass over Jamaica, according to Evan Thompson, the principal director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.

“There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this storm,” he said.

Jamaica’s Meteorological Service warned in a statement Saturday that in the next few days, “Catastrophic flash floods and landslides are likely.”

Hurricane conditions Sunday and Monday are likely to include dangerous waves and a life-threatening storm surge of 7 to 11 feet along the country’s southern coast, it said.

On Saturday, multiple buoys operated or monitored by the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including one 210 nautical miles south-southeast of Kingston, measured wave heights of around 8 feet.

Operators of small boats, including fishing boats, were advised by Jamaica’s Meteorological Service to keep their vessels moored if possible through the duration of the storm.

The storm will bring “20 to 30 inches of rain,” National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said at a Saturday-morning briefing. He called Melissa a “very concerning situation.”

“If you’ve got friends and family, if you got someone down there on vacation, it’s imperative that you get in touch with them, make sure that they are aware and tracking this situation and taking necessary precautions,” Rhome said.

The hurricane center warned of “life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides” across Jamaica and southern Hispaniola through the weekend.

In the Dominican Republic, more than 500,000 people have already lost water service amid downed trees and traffic disruptions.

About 90 residents have evacuated from Saona Island, off the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, as a precaution due to the storm, the country’s Civil Defense agency announced on Facebook Saturday.

The Guantánamo Province’s government has ordered the evacuation of 145,000 people in eastern Cuba.

U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, on the southeastern coast of Cuba, began ordering nonessential personnel to report to designated bus stops on Saturday night as part of an evacuation that will bring them to departing ferries, according to the base’s Facebook page.

In Haiti, Melissa has already injured 15 and has claimed the lives of at least three people. The Haitian Civil Protection Agency said that two people died Thursday in a landslide near Port-au-Prince and an elderly man was killed by a falling tree in Marigot.

The storm was moving slowly west at 3 mph, about 130 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, as of 5 p.m. ET Saturday. The National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. forecast discussion said it would “abruptly” turn to the north-northeast early next week and, according to its cone graphics, could thread the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti.

Kingston native Diane Thompson, who sells herbs for a living, told Reuters that the storm’s pace is bad news for Jamaica.

“When it’s moving slow, it’s the worst because no one knows what’s next,” she said. “I asked God this morning to see if he can turn back the storm. Because no matter what, we cannot manage it.”