Vanessa Buschschlüterand
Jaroslav Lukiv
Watch: Storm chasers fly inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa
Three people have already died in Jamaica as it braces for the world’s strongest storm this year – and possibly the strongest on record for the island – with US meteorologists warning of “catastrophic and life-threatening” conditions.
With wind speeds of up to 175mph (282km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a category five storm – the maximum strength. It is intensifying and expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island early on Tuesday.
It has been blamed for four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in addition to the lives lost in Jamaica.
Experts warn that Melissa’s slow pace may mean prolonged torrential rain in some areas, increasing the risk of deadly flooding and landslides.
Follow live updatesThe latest data from the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows that in terms of maximum wind and low central pressure, Melissa is the world’s strongest storm so far this year.
At its current strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica since record-keeping began in 1851, CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, reported.
Tropical storm conditions are already occurring in Jamaica, and “catastrophic and life-threatening hurricane-force wind conditions are expected to begin Tuesday morning,” the latest NHC public advisory update said at 23: 00 ET (03: 00 GMT) on Monday.
Watch: Satellite video shows Hurricane Melissa intensifying near Jamaica
Three “storm-related deaths” were already reported in Jamaica Monday evening ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, Jamaica’s ministry of health and wellness said on X.
The NHC said Melissa was currently about 140 miles (240km) south-west of the capital Kingston, with sustained winds of 175mph, (280km/h). It was moving “north-northeast” at 2mph (4 km/h).
The update warned that within the eyewall – the inner part of the hurricane next to the eye, where wind speeds are typically the highest – “total structural failure is likely”.
It urged extra caution in Jamaica’s “higher elevation areas”, where wind speeds could be as much as 30% stronger.
NHC director Michael Brennan
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