Hurricane Melissa tracker: Jamaica brace up for Hurricane Melissa wey fit be di strongest ever to hit di kontri

Wia dis foto come from, REUTERS/Octavio Jones

Wetin we call dis foto, Residents for Kingston dey prepare for di storm wit sandbagsArticle Information

• • Author, Vanessa Buschschlüter
  • Role,

• 20 minutes wey don pass

Pipo for Jamaica dey prepare for di impact of Hurricane Melissa, wey dey expected to unleash destructive winds and bring serious flooding to di Caribbean nation in di coming hours.

Melissa bin dey upgraded to category five hurricane – di maximum strength – early on Monday, di US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) tok.

Di authorities fear say Melissa, wey don already chop blame for di deaths of four pipo on di island of Hispaniola, fit become di strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica.

Wia dis foto come from, REUTERS/Gilbert Bellamy

Wetin we call dis foto, Big waves don dey already break on di coast of Jamaica on Saturday, a storm surge dey expected later on Monday and into Tuesday

Di Jamaican govment don order evacuations for parts of di capital, Kingston, and di entire island don dey classed as “threatened”.

An update from di NHC at 12:00GMT say Melissa na about 135 miles (220km) southwest of Kingston, Jamaica.

E get maximum sustained wind speeds of 160mph (260km/h) and fit strengthen further in di next 12 to 24 hours, forecasters warn.

If e continue on di forecasted track, im core dey expected “to move near or over Jamaica tonight and Tuesday, across south-eastern Cuba Tuesday night, and across di south-eastern Bahamas on Wednesday”.

Di storm dey particularly slow moving, wey make am veri dangerous in terms of expected rainfall amounts.

According to di NHC, 40 inches of rain (100cm) dey possible in parts of Jamaica over di next four days.

Forecasters warn say di destructive winds and life-threatening storm surges dey expected to hit Jamaica overnight or early on Tuesday.

Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness don order di immediate evacuation of several vulnerable communities across di island.

Officials also urge residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to seek shelter for safer areas.

Jamaica Minister of Local Govment, Desmond McKenzie, tell local media say all of di island 881 shelters dey open.

Wia dis foto come from, Orlando Barría/EPA/Shutterstock

Wetin we call dis foto, Heavy rains wey Hurricane Melissa bring bin flood neighbourhoods for di Santo Domingo, di capital of di Dominican Republic

At least three pipo dey known to don die and hundreds of homes don dey flooded for Haiti as Melissa bring ogbonge rainfall to di island of Hispaniola.

For di Dominican Republic, located on di eastern side of Hispaniola, one pesin also die.

Local media identify di victim as one 79-year-old man wey bin dey swept away by floodwaters for di capital, Santo Domingo.

One 13-year-old don also dey reported missing afta e dey dragged away by strong currents as he was swimming in the sea.

Several pipo bin dey rescued afta dem bin dey trapped inside dia cars by di rising floodwater.

Get in touch

If you are in the Greater Antilles, how have you prepared for the oncoming hurricane? Share your experiences with us.