Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba near the city of Chivirico early Wednesday as a Category 3 storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the US National Hurricane Center said. Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated to shelters in Cuba. Early Wednesday, Melissa had top sustained winds of 120 mph and was moving northeast at 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The storm was expected to generate a storm surge of up to 12 feet in the region and drop up to 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba. "Numerous landslides are likely in those areas," said Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane could worsen Cuba's severe economic crisis, which already has led to prolonged power blackouts, fuel shortages and food shortages. Melissa was forecast to cross the island through the morning and move into the Bahamas later Wednesday. The continuing intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, US forecasters said. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.
"There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage," Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a televised address, in which he assured that "no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population." At the same time, he urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, "the strongest ever to hit national territory."
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