🔗 Share this article

Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to become a rare Category 5 hurricane as it shifts towards the Caribbean island, delivering deadly flash flooding and landslides.

This weather system, which registered winds of up to 120 miles per hour as of 06:00 GMT, is currently turning toward the northwest in the Caribbean and is expected to hit the coast by Tuesday, based on data from meteorological authorities.

Alerts of power cuts and disruption to utilities have been released as this storm brings up to 76cm of precipitation and storm surges as high as 4m above ground. "Find safe refuge immediately," inhabitants have been told.

This hurricane is the 13th named hurricane in the ongoing Atlantic storm period, which normally finishes in the eleventh month.

Category Five Storm Risk

A Category 5 storm is the strongest type, with sustained winds of at least 157mph.

Although Melissa is set to reduce in intensity to a fourth-level cyclone before making landfall on the island, authorities said there was "very little practical difference in the general consequences" upon landfall, and that the cyclone will be "just as powerful" when it strikes the nation.

Immediate Preparations

With tropical storm-level winds and rain anticipated well in advance well before it passes over the island's interior - perhaps encompassing the national capital - warnings emphasize that "readiness efforts must be accelerated".

"An extended timeframe of harmful winds and heavy rainfall are underway and will cause devastating and dangerous flash flooding and many mudslides," counseled climate experts.

Jamaican Prime Minister the statesman commented: "I realize that there are countless citizens who are concerned, who are extremely apprehensive, and with good reason: worry is natural.

"But the most effective method to address worry and any nervousness and worry is to be prepared."

Inhabitants are being told to secure their homes with sandbags and plywood sheets, and to stock up on necessary supplies.

Regional Consequences

Warnings are also in effect for parts of Haiti including the capital, Port au Prince, the adjacent nation and the eastern part of Cuba, where this storm is expected to bring comparable impacts by the middle portion of the coming week.

Rock slides presently generated by the hurricane have caused two deaths in Haiti, according to the nation's Civil Protection agency.

Expected Path

Melissa is predicted to move across Cuba by the middle of the week before moving through the Antillas Mayores and emerging into the open ocean.

By the time it makes contact with Cuba, it is anticipated to have reduced to a Category 3 cyclone.

Weather Connection

While it is difficult to link individual weather events to climate change, scientists say it is causing meteorological events increasingly frequent and more severe.

Increased sea temperatures produce additional humidity in the air, contributing to the development of hurricanes.

Ahead of the beginning of this season's Atlantic hurricane season, meteorological authorities projected higher-than-average occurrence, mentioning warmer seas and likely enhanced seasonal rains around the western African continent - where hurricanes frequently develop.