The category 5 hurricane brought sustained 185 miles-per-hour winds.Photo: Handout / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica Tuesday afternoon as the strongest storm on record for the island, with sustained winds of 185 miles-per-hour, the National Hurricane Center reported.
The storm made landfall near New Hope and cut a path through St. Elizabeth parish, leaving hospitals damaged, power outages affecting more than 500,000 people, and dire flood warnings. At least three people were killed in Jamaica. Melissa is also responsible for three deaths in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.
Officials warned of life‑threatening storm surges up to 13 feet, and rainfall totals reaching 15 to 30 inches in some regions.
Melissa is now one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded and is expected to strengthen again as it moves toward Cuba and the Bahamas.