Hurricane Melissa decreases to category 1 as it approaches the Bahamas after hitting Cuba and leaving 4 dead in Jamaica

The hurricane, which hit Cuba this Wednesday as a category 3, was moving away from the island with sustained winds of up to 150 km/h heading southeast of the central Bahamas. With maximum sustained winds of 200 km/h the hurricane hit Cuban lands with waves of up to eight meters and rains that could leave up to 450 liters per square meter.

The US agency anticipated hurricane conditions for the Bahamas and rain this Wednesday and Thursday. Although “Melissa has weakened substantially“after passing through Jamaica and Cuba, the NHC has noted that “global and regional hurricane models continue to suggest that has a short-term window to re-intensify” when passing through warmer waters.

That is why the Bahamas is preparing, as the neighboring territories did. According to NHC, before making landfall, Melissa is already producing strong winds, torrential rains and intense storm surges in the Caribbean archipelago, which is why evacuations have begun on six islands.

In the coming days it could move or approach towards the Turks and Caicos Islands and spread towards Bermuda at the end of the week, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Melissa’s havoc in the Caribbean

Melissa is the most devastating hurricane of the season in the Atlantic. Haiti has reported at least 23 deaths, half of them children, and 13 people missing while torrential rains continue in several regions of the country, which have left more than 13,000 displaced, according to the latest official tally of victims.

In Jamaica At least four fatalities have been reported, a country declared a “catastrophic zone” due to the impact of the cyclone: mMore than half a million people have been left without electricity and floods and landslides are multiplying throughout the country. The Government anticipates that more than 50,000 people will be displaced by Melissa.

Cuba This past Wednesday dawned with nearly 3.5 million people without power and extensive damage from floods. According to the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet), in just fifteen hours Melissa left up to 400 millimeters of water (or liters per square meter) in six locations, between 200 and 300 millimeters in twelve locations and more than 100 millimeters in 72 locations.

After being hit by an “extremely dangerous” system, authorities have begun to take stock of the damage. At the moment the Civil Defense has no record of fatalities or missing persons, although rescuers have not yet reached many highly affected rural and mountainous areas, mainly due to the intense rains, which have caused multiple rivers and dams to overflow, sudden floods and landslides.