National Hurricane Center tracking Hurricane Melissa
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No official death toll in Jamaica
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The most powerful storm to hit the region since 1988 could inundate some areas of eastern Jamaica with up to 40 inches of rain. The arrival of its core has been delayed by stalling.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a fearsome Category 5 storm. Forecasters said it could be the island's "storm of the century."
Hurricane Melissa is on track to pass through the southeastern islands of the Bahamas, which are sparsely populated compared to the islands in the north of the archipelago. The two islands that are in the storm’s direct path, Crooked Island and Long Island, have a total population of just a few thousand people.
The storm's slow movement is expected to bring a deluge of rain to multiple countries in the Caribbean, and prolong its dangerous impacts over a period of several days.
With peak sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts exceeding 210 mph, Hurricane Melissa is forecast to be the strongest storm ever to strike Jamaica.
HAVANA/KINGSTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE >> Hurricane Melissa tore through the northern Caribbean and was seen picking up speed as it churned across open ocean towards Bermuda today, leaving a trail of high winds and destruction from Jamaica to Cuba and Haiti in its wake.
DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE WILL PROSECUTE HIS ENEMIES, ORDER MASS DEPORTATIONS, USE SOLDIERS AGAINST CITIZENS, PLAY POLITICS WITH DISASTERS, ABA "Twelve-year paramedic here. In the US, at least, pull to the right when an emergency vehicle is coming.