Members of the local Jamaican Association are praying for the best, but fearing the worse as Hurricane Melissa, a category 5 storm, bears down on the Caribbean island nation.
Lisa Johnson says Jamaica suffered billions of dollars in damages as the result of Hurricane Gilbert, another category 5 storm that made landfall near Kingston on September 12, 1988.
Satellite image of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 (via the National Hurricane Center)
The National Hurricane Center in the United States is warning of “catastrophic flash flooding” and the possibility of landslides when Melissa makes landfall by tomorrow.
(The National Hurricane Center)
Parts of Kingston, and other communities are being evacuated as the storm approaches, and Johnson says many of their members have family and friends back home who have had to leave the coastline and move inland toward higher ground.
Ocho Rios, Jamaica, one of the areas evacuated ahead of Hurricane Melissa (Lisa Johnson)
“In low-lying areas, as there is anticipated landfall and flooding, the government is basically doing all that they can to evacuate members of some communities” says Johnson. “I do have friends and family that have had to evacuate based on the fact that they’re close to the shoreline and there is going to be storm surge.”
