Heavy floodwaters surged through southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the Atlantic.
Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, urged people to seek shelter and stay indoors as the storm crosses the island.
In Kingston, the usually bustling capital, streets were eerily deserted except for a few hurried pedestrians and a stray dog splashing through puddles beneath trees bending in the gusts.
A man walks along the coastline ahead of the forecasted arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Old Harbour (A man walks along the coastline ahead of the forecasted arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Old Harbour)A soldier helps a woman evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Canizo, a community in Santiago de Cuba (A soldier helps a woman evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Canizo, a community in Santiago de Cuba)Waves splash in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches, Tuesday, Oct. 28, (Waves splash in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches, Tuesday, Oct. 28,)A man boards up a hotel's windows in preparation of Hurricane Melissa's expected arrival in Kingston (A man boards up a hotel's windows in preparation of Hurricane Melissa's expected arrival in Kingston)A man watches the coastline in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa closes in, Tuesday, Oct. 28 (A man watches the coastline in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa closes in, Tuesday, Oct. 28)People take shelter in a school ahead of Hurricane Melissa's forecast arrival in Old Harbour (People take shelter in a school ahead of Hurricane Melissa's forecast arrival in Old Harbour)A man wades through a flooded street ahead of the forecasted arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Old Harbour (A man wades through a flooded street ahead of the forecasted arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Old Harbour)People walk in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa makes landfall, Tuesday, Oct. 28 (People walk in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa makes landfall, Tuesday, Oct. 28)A woman carrying a mattress in the rain evacuates before the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Cañizo, a community in Santiago de Cuba (A woman carrying a mattress in the rain evacuates before the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Cañizo, a community in Santiago de Cuba)
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