Hurricane 'Melissa' struck the coast of Jamaica on Tuesday. Its speed reached 297 kilometers per hour, and it has been classified as a Category 5. This was reported on October 28 by the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The hurricane struck the southwest of Jamaica, in the New Hope area, and is moving north-northeast at a speed of 15 km/h. The hurricane's epicenter is located approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Negril (Jamaica) and about 235 kilometers southwest of Guantanamo (Cuba).
Jamaica has never been subjected to a Category 5 hurricane, and one of the UN agencies has called 'Melissa' the 'storm of the century.'
In central Jamaica, up to 9 meters of rainfall may occur over the next two days.
'Melissa' is also one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the Atlantic coast, alongside two other hurricanes — 'Dorian' in 2019 and the 'Labor Day' hurricane of 1935.
Previously, the record for Jamaica was held by the devastating Category 4 hurricane 'Gilbert' in 1988.
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