The effects of hurricane Melissa in Jamaica Photo: Matias Delacroix / AP / Profimedia
Hurricane Melissa, which left behind at least 24 dead in Haiti, devastated entire regions of Jamaica and flooded Cuba, is set to reach the Bermuda Islands on Thursday, after several days in the Caribbean Sea, informs AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
“Weather conditions in Bermuda will deteriorate rapidly late this afternoon and into this evening,” the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest bulletin, reporting winds of up to 100 mph.
The Bahamian authorities instead canceled the “hurricane warning” for the central and southern regions of the archipelago, the same measure being taken for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
From Wednesday, the cleaning operations of the flooded and debris-covered streets began in Cuba. In Santiago de Cuba, the country's second largest city, portions of buildings collapsed and the tin roofs did not hold. The city was left without electricity, numerous poles being knocked to the ground.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the hurricane caused “considerable damage”, but no casualties were reported, according to the authorities.
VIDEO Jamaica has been hit by the 'storm of the century', Hurricane Melissa is now heading towards Cuba
In Haiti, where the storm did not reach land, at least 24 people, including ten children, died as a result of the torrential rains, and 18 are missing, according to a new report released Thursday by the UN.
Melissa was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in 90 years when it hit Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of about 300 km/h.
Gradually, international aid began to arrive in the affected countries. The United States has “sent rescue and intervention teams to the affected areas, as well as vital supplies,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X.
Also, the United Kingdom will grant emergency financial assistance worth 2.5 million pounds (2.8 million euros) to the affected countries. “The hurricane reminds us that it is more and more urgent to restore the balance and harmony of nature,” said King Charles III in a message posted on social media.
