Hurricane Melissa will make landfall in Jamaica in the coming hours.
It is the world’s strongest storm this year.
Weather events ahead of the category five hurricane have already killed three people in the country, and seven total across the region.
Hurricanes
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather event: powerful storms characterised by strong winds, flooding, and storm surge that can cause damage.
The difference is where the storm occurs.
‘Hurricane’ is used when the storm occurs in the North Atlantic ocean, and central and eastern North Pacific ocean.
Category
Hurricane Melissa has been classified as a category five hurricane, the highest possible category.
Storms are measured by their maximum sustained wind speed.
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The U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) classifies a hurricane as category five when it has winds faster than 252km/h.
Hurricane Melissa’s maximum sustained winds are around 280km/h. It could cause power outages potentially lasting months, and lead to most areas it hits being uninhabitable for weeks.
Updates
The hurricane is currently blowing through the Caribbean.
The NHC said Hurricane Melissa is expected to impact Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the British territory of Turks and Caicos.
International media reports seven people have died as a result of Hurricane Melissa so far.
The NHC said Hurricane Melissa is “expected to bring catastrophic winds” and up to 76cm of rain to Jamaica.
Strong currents, landslides, and flash flooding are also expected across the region.
The Jamaican Government has confirmed the storm has already caused “periods of moderate to heavy rainfall” over areas of the country.
The Government has closed the international airports, declared the entire island a ‘threatened area’, and activated almost 900 shelters across the country.
