Hurricane Melissa left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean and heads towards Bermuda this Thursday (30), after causing at least 20 deaths in Haiti and devastating parts of Jamaica and Cuba, where entire communities were reduced to rubble, reports the agency France-Presse (AFP).
According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), the hurricane warning has been lifted for the central and southeastern regions of the Bahamas, but authorities continue to warn of risks of flooding, power outages and impassable roads.
“Follow instructions from local authorities. You may need to remain sheltered even after the storm due to downed power lines and flooding,” the NHC warned.
Cuba: thousands of people displaced and infrastructure destroyed
In Cuba, where around 735 thousand people were evacuatedPresident Miguel Díaz-Canel described the damage as “extensive”. The provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín and Guantánamo were the most affected, in a country already facing the worst economic crisis in decades.
Flooded streets, collapsed houses and torn off roofs are now a common sight in the east of the island. The mobile communication network is interrupted in several areas.
Mariela Reyes, a 55-year-old housewife in Santiago de Cuba, told AFP how the wind took the roof of her house and deposited it a block away: “I managed to save the television and some small appliances. But the rest… I lost everything. It’s not easy to lose the little you have.”
Jamaica: “unprecedented devastation”
In Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a “disaster zone”. It is estimated that 25 thousand people are in shelters. UN coordinator Dennis Zulu described the impact as “unprecedented devastation to infrastructure, housing and communications”.
Many locations remain inaccessible and the government has not yet been able to confirm the total number of victims.
Hurricane Melissa equaled the 1935 record as the most intense to hit Jamaica, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Christopher Hacker, a farmer and businessman in Seaford Town, saw his restaurant and banana plantations destroyed: “Everything is gone. It’s going to take a long time to recover from this,” he told AFP.