Kingston, Oct 30 (UNI) Four people have reportedly died in Jamaica while at least 20 others have died in Haiti in flooding as a result of Hurricane Melissa.
The hurricane made landfall on Tuesday as a category five storm in Jamaica, where people remain stuck on roofs and without power. It has left a trail of serious damage and total devastation across the island.
A Jamaican official has confirmed the first deaths in the country as a result of the hurricane, reports BBC.
Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s minister of Local Government and Community Development has issued an update saying four people have died in the St Elizabeth area.
In a statement, he said: “I am saddened to announce that four people – three men and one woman – have been confirmed dead by the police in St. Elizabeth.
“They were discovered after being washed up by the flood waters generated by the hurricane.”
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has been touring parts of the country today to survey the extent of the damage.
A little earlier, he told the BBC the town of Black River “has literally been totally destroyed”.
In his latest update, he said he has concluded a tour of St Elizabeth, where the devastation is “truly heartbreaking” but that the spirit of the people “remains unbroken”.
The Prime Minister further said that Hurricane Melissa unleashed its trail of destruction, it destroyed hospitals in its path, sheared off between 80-90% of roofs, wrecked police stations and libraries and razed local infrastructure.
Parishes including Saint Elizabeth, Hanover, Saint James, and parts of Manchester have been severely impacted, Holness said. The town of Black River “has literally been totally destroyed”.
For now, the focus is getting electricity and telecoms up and running again, Holness said and expressed his firm belief that Jamaica is resilient and will recover.
The western part of Jamaica has been the hardest-hit area of the island, after Hurricane Melissa barrelled through on Tuesday.
Many houses have been destroyed in the town of Black River in St Elizabeth Parish, one of the worst-hit areas. The residents there are still out of contact as the phone lines aren’t working.
British monarch King Charles, who is the head of state for Jamaica, has issued a statement saying he is “deeply concerned” and “profoundly saddened” at the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.
He also referred to his admiration for those who have responded “courageously”, including the emergency services, frontline workers and volunteers.
Meanwhile, the US has sent a disaster response team to assess the ground situation in the Caribbean.
“As a preparatory measure, we have initiated planning to deploy a situational assessment team that will be tasked with evaluating the conditions in hurricane-stricken areas and the unique requirements needed for timely and effective life-saving, urgent humanitarian aid, and disaster response operations,” a spokesperson said.
After Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa also wreaked havoc in Cuba and Haiti early this morning.
The storm brought 185 km per hour winds and heavy rain to Cuba, flooding streets, knocking down trees, breaking windows and doors, damaging buildings, and disconnecting parts of the country from the power grid.
Cuban authorities are reporting widespread flooding in lowland areas – which they warn will severely impact winter crops – as well as power shutdowns across almost all of eastern Cuba, as per a Reuters report.
In Haiti, Hurricane Melissa has caused devastating flooding, leading to at least 20 deaths on the island.
Many homes have been washed away in the floodwaters and people have been clearing debris with their bare hands, Pascal Bimenyimana from the World Relief NGO said.
Melissa has passed over Cuba now and headed toward the Bahamas, but winds continue to blow at dangerous speeds of 100 mph on the island.
Hurricane Melissa is now a category one storm, with maximum wind speeds of 90mph (145km/h). It is expected to move across the south east or central Bahamas in the next few hours and then move to the west of Bermuda late on Thursday.
