Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica as one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded — with the United Nations declaring the disaster “the storm of the century.”
Melissa smashed into Jamaica’s southwestern coast just after 1 p.m. ET Tuesday as a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds blowing a devastating 185 mph.
It’s only the second Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall with wind speeds that high — the other was 1935’s Labor Day Hurricane, which killed hundreds when it smashed into Florida.
The island nation of 2.8 million shut down all airports, and as many as 25,000 tourists were trapped.
And Melissa could be shaping up to be a catastrophe of similar proportions, with experts cautioning that a humanitarian disaster could unfold after the entire island nation was enveloped by the screaming winds.
“It’s a catastrophic situation expected in Jamaica,” the UN World Meteorological Organization’s cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan said.
“For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century, for sure,” she added.
Roofs were ripped from buildings in cities and towns across the island, while terrifying footage showed thoroughfares turned into churning rivers of coursing muddy rapids as torrential rains sparked powerful flash floods.
Power outages were also widespread starting Monday, before Melissa even arrived – while internet critical for emergency response systems was knocked out across nearly half the island.
Many Jamaicans were placed under mandatory evacuations, or ordered to shelter in place – while some communities were even advised to be on the lookout for crocodiles washed from their swampy habitats into flooded streets and yards.
About 40-inches of rain and 13-foot storm surges were forecast, but Fox Weather meteorologist Greg Diamond said Jamaica’s lack of robust weather stations means the world will have to wait some time before the full scope of the storm is understood.
Melissa’s eye moved off Jamaica’s northwest coast as a Category 4 with 145 mph winds just before 6 p.m. Eastern Time, after carving a path almost directly across the island.
Winds and rain were forecast to keep lashing the island as it moved offshore to the northeast.
Only three deaths from the storm have been confirmed on Jamaica as of Tuesday evening, according to CNN, but that count was only expected to climb as the winds and rain subside and the country begins sifting through the wreckage.
Melissa will move on to Cuba next, with forecasts predicting it would slam into the nation’s southeastern region between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Wednesday as a Cat. 4 with sustained winds of at least 130 mph.
Upwards of 20 inches of rain are expected, along with a 12-foot storm surge. Cuba began carrying out mandatory evacuations Tuesday.
Melissa will leave Cuba Wednesday morning, then run into the Bahamas with diminished but still substantial 100 mph winds by during the day, Fox Weather forecast. Up to 10 inches of rain could fall, while the storm surge could reach 8-feet.
Turks and Caicos is expected to be spared the brunt of the storm and instead face tropical storm-level effects, after earlier forecasts called for a more direct hit.
Melissa will have left the Caribbean by Thursday, with only Bermuda possibly experiencing effects that night as the storm moves into the Atlantic and dies. A Hurricane watch remains in effect there, but the winds are only likely to reach 85 mph and no more than 3-inches of rain is expected, according to Fox.
But the storm is expected to leave a “historic” path of destruction in its wake, meteorologists said.
“It is tied with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 for the most intense landfalling Atlantic hurricane on record,” Diamond said.
“The landfall wind and pressure for both, was 185 mph and 892 millibars. Lower pressure typically equates to a more powerful storm.”
And Melissa ties for second with four other storms – Dorian, Wilma, Gilbert and the Labor Day – for the strongest winds recorded in any hurricane.
Only Hurricane Allen – which crashed through the Caribbean into Mexico in 1980 – tops them all, with winds of 190 mph.
But Melissa is by far the worst storm to ever make landfall in Jamaica — blowing 1988’s Cat. 3 Gilbert off the map. That storm still flattened about a fifth of the island’s buildings — raising a daunting prospect for Jamaica’s fate as the sun rises over the wreckage Wednesday morning.
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