Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica. The western part of the island is cut off from the rest of the country

Western Jamaica is largely cut off from the rest of the country after Hurricane Melissa, CNN reported on Wednesday. Wind blowing at speeds of up to nearly 300 km/h. it felled trees and tore down power cables, but there is no information about any casualties yet.

– Reports so far indicate destroyed hospitals, serious damage to residential buildings (…) and commercial facilities, as well as damage to road infrastructure – said the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness. There were reports of people being cut off by water.

Electricity does not reach over half a million households. According to NetBlocks, a website that monitors Internet connectivity, on Tuesday evening, Internet traffic on the island dropped by about 70 percent.

US President Donald Trump told journalists accompanying him on his trip from Japan to South Korea that the US is ready to help the Caribbean country. – We are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to act – he assured.

Melissa is currently heading towards Cuba. Rescue services expect flooding, landslides and significant damage to infrastructure.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned that the country was facing a “very difficult night,” the Guardian reported. In his evening television speech, the head of state appealed to citizens not to underestimate the hurricane. He also warned that the island was threatened by “the strongest (storm) that has ever hit the country.” He also called on residents not to leave the places to which they were evacuated until such an order is issued.

“We know there will be a lot of destruction,” he said. On the website, X informed that 735,000 people had been evacuated so far. people.(PAP)

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