The first effects of Hurricane Melissa are starting to be felt in Santiago de Cuba, where sporadic winds have downed trees, power lines, and caused water accumulation in several streets of the city.
The social communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada posted images this Tuesday on Facebook that show fallen trees and branches, as well as streets with water accumulation, effects associated with the increasing proximity of Cyclone Melissa.
"Intermittent tropical storm winds are being felt in Santiago de Cuba, starting to knock down trees and power lines," Mayeta wrote, including photographs taken in various urban areas.
To the editorial team of CiberCuba, a resident of Santiago also reported that a strong gust of wind was already felt in the city, shaking windows and doors.
"And the worst has still not arrived," he warned.
From the official profile Tocororo Cubano, the first images of the damage caused by Melissa are also arriving, even though it is far from the province of Santiago de Cuba.
"The impacts of Hurricane Melissa are already being felt," it stated on Facebook.
The independent global weather visualization platform Windy estimated this Tuesday that the hurricane Melissa will make landfall in the Uvero–Chivirico area in Santiago de Cuba during the early morning hours on Wednesday, with maximum winds reaching nearly 222 kilometers per hour.
A map from that specialized portal indicates that the powerful Hurricane Melissa is very close to the eastern region of Cuba and could make landfall at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday in the area of Uvero–Chivirico, on the southern coast of Santiago de Cuba, where local authorities evacuated vulnerable communities.
The hurricane Melissa emerged on the afternoon of this Tuesday off the northern coast of western Jamaica and is heading towards eastern Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The renowned Cuban meteorologist José Rubiera issued an urgent alert regarding the imminent arrival of Hurricane Melissa to the east of Cuba, warning that the phenomenon “will be destructive” and that residents must protect their lives and those of their families in the face of extreme danger.
Filed under: