🔗 Share this article

Hurricane Melissa is forecast to become a rare highest-level cyclone as it turns toward Jamaica, delivering deadly rapid inundation and mudslides.

This weather system, which had wind speeds of up to 120 miles per hour as of 0600 Greenwich Mean Time, is now shifting north-west in the Caribbean and is anticipated to hit the coast by Tuesday, based on data from weather experts.

Advisories of blackouts and damage to infrastructure have been issued as Melissa brings up to 30 inches of precipitation and coastal flooding as high as 13ft above normal levels. "Seek shelter now," locals have been urged.

The cyclone is the thirteenth storm in this year's Atlantic season, which usually concludes in late autumn.

Category Five Cyclone Threat

A highest-level storm is the most powerful category, with winds of at least 157 miles per hour.

Although this storm is projected to reduce in intensity to a fourth-level cyclone before arriving at the island, experts said there was "minimal real distinction in the total effects" upon making contact with land, and that the cyclone will be "just as powerful" when it strikes the nation.

Urgent Readiness Measures

With tropical storm-strength gusts and precipitation predicted to begin well before it passes over the island's interior - including potentially the city of Kingston - advisories state that "preparations should be rushed to completion".

"Several days of destructive gusts and intense precipitation are underway and will cause severe and deadly sudden floods and multiple landslides," advised climate experts.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: "I understand that there are many Jamaicans who are worried, who are very concerned, and rightfully so: concern is justified.

"Yet the best way to handle anxiety and any unease and worry is to be prepared."

Locals are being instructed to protect their properties with sandbags and wooden boards, and to stock up on basic necessities.

Wider Impact

Warnings are also in effect for regions of Haiti including the primary urban center, the Dominican Republic and Cuba's eastern region, where Melissa is anticipated to bring comparable impacts by the middle of next week.

Mudslides currently triggered by the storm have resulted in two fatalities in the country, according to local authorities.

Projected Course

The hurricane is predicted to pass over the island nation by midweek before moving through the Caribbean archipelago and emerging into the Atlantic Ocean.

By the point it arrives at the Caribbean nation, it is predicted to have weakened to a third-level cyclone.

Climate Context

Even though it is difficult to connect particular meteorological occurrences to climate change, experts say it is causing meteorological events increasingly frequent and more severe.

Higher ocean heat generate more moisture in the air, contributing to the creation of hurricanes.

Ahead of the beginning of the current Caribbean cyclone season, weather organizations forecast higher-than-average occurrence, citing heated marine conditions and possible enhanced seasonal rains around West Africa - where Atlantic storms often form.