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Hurricane Melissa picked up strength as it bore down on Cuba, where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday after carving a path of destruction through Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record there, lashing the island nation with brutal winds and torrential rain. The monster storm was still 110 miles (175 kilometers) away from Guantanamo late Tuesday but was “re-strengthening” to a Category 4 hurricane “as it approaches eastern Cuba,” the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. The storm took hours to pass over Jamaica — a crossing that weakened its winds, dropping them to Category 3 strength from the maximum level 5 — before intensifying again. “Melissa is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves across Cuba, the Bahamas, and near Bermuda,” the NHC said, adding that the storm is forecast to make landfall in Cuba “as an extremely dangerous major hurricane in the next few hours.” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area,” and authorities urged residents to remain sheltered amid continued risks of flooding and landslides, as dangerous weather persisted even after the hurricane’s core moved on. Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist in Kingston, said her home was devastated by the storm. “My sister explained that parts of our roof were blown off and other parts caved in, and the entire house was flooded,” she told AFP. “Outside structures like our outdoor kitchen, dog kennel, and animal pens were also gone — destroyed.” The full scale of Melissa’s damage in Jamaica was not yet clear; a comprehensive assessment could take days. Much of the island remained without power, and communications networks were badly disrupted. At its peak, the storm packed ferocious sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour). Immediate details regarding casualties were not available. Government minister Desmond McKenzie said several hospitals had been damaged, including those in Saint Elizabeth, a coastal district he said was “underwater.” “The damage to Saint Elizabeth is extensive, based on what we have seen,” he told a briefing. “Saint Elizabeth is the breadbasket of the country, and it has taken a beating. The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa.” The hurricane was the strongest ever to strike Jamaica, hitting land with maximum wind speeds surpassing even some of recent history’s most destructive storms, including 2005’s Katrina, which devastated New Orleans. **media[374802]** Severely Damaged Infrastructure Even before Melissa slammed into Jamaica, seven deaths — three in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic — had been attributed to the worsening conditions. Jamaica’s climate change minister told CNN that Melissa’s impact was “catastrophic,” citing flooded homes and “severely damaged public infrastructure” and hospitals. Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP from Kingston that those in the capital were “lucky” but feared for fellow Jamaicans in the island’s rural areas. “My heart goes out to the folks living on the western end of the island,” he said. Climate Change Impact **media[374801]** Broad scientific consensus holds that human-driven climate change is responsible for the intensification of storms like Melissa, which are becoming increasingly frequent and bring greater potential for destruction and deadly flooding. Melissa lingered over Jamaica long enough that the rainfall was particularly devastating. “Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse,” said climate scientist Daniel Gilford. The Jamaican Red Cross, which was distributing drinking water and hygiene kits ahead of infrastructure disruptions, said Melissa’s “slow nature” exacerbated anxiety among residents. The UN is planning an airlift of some 2,000 relief kits to Jamaica from a relief supply station in Barbados once air travel resumes. Assistance is also planned for other affected countries, including Cuba and Haiti, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists. Jamaican officials said around 25,000 tourists were in the country, famed for its normally crystalline waters.

Hurricane Melissa, already a major category 4 storm, gathered steam Sunday as it took aim at Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, with forecasters predicting catastrophic flooding and urging residents to seek shelter immediately. Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week, as its outer bands brought heavy rains and landslides. The storm is moving at a worryingly slow pace -- just 6km an hour -- which has meteorologists concerned that it will dump punishing rains on countries in its path for far longer than a storm that passes by more quickly. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Melissa was packing maximum winds of about 225 kilometers per hour -- and would likely intensify into a top-level category 5 storm later Sunday. Up to 40 inches (about a meter) of rainfall could hit parts of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, sparking flash flooding and more landslides. "This extreme rainfall potential, owing to the slow motion, is going to create a catastrophic event here for Jamaica," NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said in a webcast briefing. "You need to just be wherever you're going to be and be ready to ride this out for several days," Rhome said. "Conditions will deteriorate really, really rapidly here in the next few hours. Don't be out and about after sunset." A 79-year-old man was found dead in the Dominican Republic after being swept away in a stream, local officials said Saturday. A 13-year-old boy was missing. In neighboring Haiti, the civil protection agency reported the deaths of three people caused by storm conditions. "You feel powerless, unable to do anything, just run away and leave everything behind," Angelita Francisco, a 66-year-old homemaker who fled her neighborhood in the Dominican Republic, told AFP through tears. Floodwater had inundated her house, causing her refrigerator to float away as trash bobbed around the home. "Seek shelter now," the NHC advised residents of Jamaica. "Damaging winds and heavy rainfall today and on Monday will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides before the strongest winds arrive." The international airport in Kingston closed late Saturday to incoming and departing flights, Jamaican Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness advised fishermen to "remain in safe harbor." The Jamaica Information Service, a government agency, said Saturday that all seaports had been closed. Melissa was expected to make landfall in Jamaica late Monday or early Tuesday, and then again in southeastern Cuba. At 1500 GMT, the hurricane was located about 110 miles south of Kingston and 280 miles south-southwest of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Dominican Republic's emergency operations center has placed nine of 31 provinces on red alert due to risk of flash floods, rising rivers and landslides. Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November. The last major hurricane to impact Jamaica was Beryl in early July 2024 -- an abnormally strong storm for the time of year. Beryl brought downpours and strong winds to Jamaica as it moved past the island's southern coast, leaving at least four people dead.

The US National Hurricane Center announced that Tropical Depression Nine has strengthened into Tropical Storm Imelda off Florida. The center said that Imelda is now about 595.46 km southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 km per hour. It is expected to become a hurricane by this evening or tomorrow. A tropical storm is expected to hit the central and northwestern Bahamas in the coming hours. Waves caused by Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto will affect parts of the Bahamas in the coming days, and will then extend to most of the eastern US coast.