🔗 Share this article

Cyclone Melissa is forecast to escalate to a infrequent highest-level cyclone as it turns towards Jamaica, delivering life-threatening rapid inundation and rock falls.

This weather system, which registered wind speeds of up to 195 km/h as of 06:00 GMT, is currently turning northwest in the Caribbean region and is expected to reach land by early next week, according to hurricane specialists.

Alerts of electricity outages and damage to infrastructure have been announced as this storm generates up to thirty inches of rainfall and sea level surges as high as 13ft above normal levels. "Take cover without delay," inhabitants have been told.

The cyclone is the 13th hurricane in the current Atlantic season, which typically ends in November.

Highest-Level Storm Risk

A highest-level hurricane is the most intense classification, with wind speeds of at least 157 miles per hour.

While the hurricane is set to reduce in intensity to a fourth-level cyclone before reaching the island, experts said there was "very little practical difference in the overall impacts" upon making contact with land, and that the hurricane will be "at least that intensity" when it impacts the country.

Immediate Readiness Measures

With storm-force winds and rain anticipated well in advance long before it crosses Jamaica's central region - perhaps encompassing the city of Kingston - warnings emphasize that "safety measures need to be finalized quickly".

"An extended timeframe of harmful winds and torrential rain have begun and will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and many rock slides," urged climate experts.

The nation's leader the official said: "I realize that there are many Jamaicans who are worried, who are deeply troubled, and rightfully so: worry is natural.

"However the optimal approach to manage nervousness and any unease and anxiety is to remain prepared."

Locals are being told to protect their properties with protective bags and timber panels, and to stock up on necessary supplies.

Regional Effects

Advisories are also ongoing for areas in Haiti such as the primary urban center, the adjacent nation and Cuba's eastern region, where this storm is expected to bring comparable impacts by the middle of next week.

Landslides already being caused by the storm have caused two deaths in Haiti, according to local authorities.

Expected Course

Melissa is forecast to pass over Cuba by Wednesday before passing across the Greater Antilles and emerging into the Atlantic Ocean.

By the moment it makes contact with Cuba, it is anticipated to have reduced to a Category 3 hurricane.

Environmental Connection

Even though it is challenging to associate particular meteorological occurrences to climate change, scientists say it is making meteorological events more common and more intense.

Increased sea temperatures generate more moisture in the environment, aiding in the development of hurricanes.

Before the beginning of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, weather organizations projected above-normal activity, referencing heated marine conditions and likely more intense weather patterns around the western African continent - where tropical systems typically originate.