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The powerful hurricane Melissa has been downgraded to category 4 on Tuesday afternoon, but it remains a dangerous cyclone as it sweeps through the northwest of Jamaica, bringing catastrophic winds, severe flooding, and high storm surges, reported the National Hurricane Center of the United States (NHC).
In its report of the hurricane evolution update at 4:00 p.m., the NHC emphasized: “This is an extremely dangerous situation that poses a threat to life.”
He warned that residents of the island should not leave their shelters and advised them to stay in them during these "life-threatening conditions."
"To protect yourself from the wind, the best thing you can do is to place as many walls as possible between you and the outside," recommended the NHC to the residents of Jamaica. "Seek refuge in an interior room without windows, ideally one where you can also avoid falling trees; it is the safest place within a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a helmet for added protection."
Melissa made landfall in Jamaica at noon this Tuesday, as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The powerful cyclone struck fiercely across the southern part of the Caribbean island, where sustained winds of up to 295 km/h (185 mph) and higher gusts were felt. Its minimum central pressure was 892 mb upon entering Jamaican territory, reported the NHC.
As it passed through the island nation, Melissa spread terror with winds of up to 270 km/h, torrential rains, and storm surges with waves over three meters high, leaving a trail of destruction in several regions: collapsed roofs, widespread power outages, overflowing rivers, floods, and landslides.
The eye of the hurricane slowly moved over the west of the island, leaving behind scenes of total destruction in Montego Bay and nearby rural communities.
Authorities urged residents not to leave their shelters. Meanwhile, emergency agencies have described the situation as "catastrophic" and fear that the material losses may be substantial across the entire western region of Jamaica.
Now at category 4, Melissa continues to cover a wide region of the Caribbean, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 45 kilometers from the center of the hurricane and storm gusts reaching up to 315 kilometers around it.
About five in the afternoon, the center of the hurricane emerged along the northern coast of western Jamaica. Melissa is heading toward eastern Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph).
The eastern provinces of Cuba, particularly Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Granma, and Holguín, are under hurricane alert due to the imminent impact of the weather phenomenon, which could cause coastal flooding, landslides, and severe damage to infrastructure.
The independent global weather visualization platform Windy forecasted this Tuesday that the hurricane Melissa will make landfall in Cuba near the Uvero–Chivirico area, on the southern coast of Santiago, around 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, with maximum winds of approximately 222 kilometers per hour.
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