Melissa churns across Cuba as a Category 2 storm

People walk along a road after Hurricane Melissa passed through Spurr Tree, Jamaica, on Wednesday

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba — On Wednesday, Hurricane Melissa moved through Cuba as a Category 2 storm, having previously battered Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

At least one fatality was reported in Jamaica when Melissa made landfall on Tuesday, bringing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. A tree fell on an infant in the western part of the island, as stated by Abka Fitz-Henley, a state minister, to Nationwide News Network, a local radio station. He noted that the majority of the damage occurred in the southwestern and northwestern regions.

Melissa had sustained winds reaching 105 mph and was moving north-northeast at 14 mph, as reported by the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was located 45 miles northwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, and 205 miles south of the central Bahamas.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Cuba were evacuated to shelters. A hurricane warning was issued for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas, as well as the southeastern and central Bahamas.

In Las Tunas, 73-year-old retiree Manuel Pérez told The Associated Press by phone that it was impossible to assess the damage yet because the hurricane struck at night. The streets were deserted.

“The winds and gusts were very strong, and the rain is still falling,” he said.

Melissa was predicted to keep losing strength as it passed over Cuba but to stay strong as it traveled across the southeastern or central Bahamas later on Wednesday. It is anticipated to approach late Thursday near or west of Bermuda. Haiti and the Turks and Caicos also prepared for its impact.

The storm was anticipated to cause a surge reaching up to 12 feet in the area and bring as much as 20 inches of rain to parts of eastern Cuba. U.S. forecasters warned that the heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flooding and numerous landslides.

The hurricane might exacerbate Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which has already resulted in prolonged power outages, as well as shortages of fuel and food.

“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be extensive damage,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated in a televised address, urging the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the strongest ever to hit national territory.”