What we’re covering
• Moving north: Melissa made landfall in Cuba early Wednesday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane, after devastating Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history. For additional coverage, watch CNN.
• Impact: Severe flooding has hit streets in Cuba as Melissa moves over the island. We’re also seeing reports of extensive damage to homes, hospitals and schools in southwestern Jamaica. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a disaster area Tuesday. For ways to help those impacted, see here.
• Already deadly: Melissa is responsible for seven deaths — three in Jamaica during storm preparations, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.Melissa over Cuba, hurricane-force gust reported at Guantánamo
From CNN Meteorologist Chris Dolce
Hurricane Melissa is tracking over eastern Cuba right now, bringing destructive winds, flooding rain and storm surge.
Winds gusted to 75 mph in the last hour at Leeward Point Field in Guantánamo, Cuba.
Maximum sustained winds are 115 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane, according to the 5 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Melissa is tracking northeast at 12 mph.
Melissa will move back over water along Cuba’s northeast coast later this morning. It will remain powerful hurricane as it tracks through the central and southern Bahamas today.
Melissa has made landfall in Cuba. Here’s what to know
From CNN Staff
Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a major Category 3 hurricane in Cuba at 3:10 a.m. ET Wednesday after departing Jamaica.
The system is expected to track directly over southeastern Cuba for the next few hours, bringing damaging winds, flooding rain and life-threatening storm surge up to 12 feet above normal tide levels.
Melissa is so far responsible for at least seven deaths – three in Jamaica during storm preparations, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic.
Here’s what else we know:
Cuba
More than 735,000 people were evacuated in Cuba as Melissa approached, according to President Miguel Díaz-Canel. “It will be a very difficult night for all of Cuba, but we are going to recover,” he said.
Eastern Cuba could see up to 25 inches of rain in the mountains, which could trigger life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides. Parts of the island face up to 120 mph sustained winds with higher gusts near the storm’s center and up to 12 feet of storm surge at the coast.
China sent aid parcels to Cuba ahead of Hurricane Melissa. A video shared by China’s ambassador to Cuba shows hundreds of boxes labeled “family kit” being transported from a warehouse.
Bahamas
Melissa is on a path toward central and southeastern Bahamas where conditions are expected to deteriorate quickly by Wednesday. Evacuation orders have been issued for six islands in the Bahamas, including Acklins and Crooked Island, as officials brace for a flooding and a possible 8-foot storm surge.
An official in the Bahamas urged residents in the storm’s path to take shelter, saying: “The time for preparation has not come to an end.”
Jamaica
There were close to 15,000 Jamaicans in emergency shelters across the country Tuesday, including at a police station in the southwestern city of Black River, amid reports of extensive damage in St. Elizabeth parish.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a ‘disaster area’ – a move partially aimed at preventing price gouging as food, water, and other goods are in short supply. The Jamaican government has rolled out an official website to streamline relief and recovery efforts.
Holness said hospitals, housing, and commercial property have been damaged, and crews should be able to “start the recovery process immediately” on the eastern end of the island. By Wednesday, they should “be able to restore electricity, telecommunications.” The southern portion of the island will need additional days, he said.
More than half a million people in Jamaica were without power Tuesday, with the most significant impact in western Jamaica, making up more than 77% of Jamaica Public Service customers across the country. Internet connectivity in Jamaica dropped to just 30% of normal levels by late Tuesday, according to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring organization.
Around 25,000 tourists remain in Jamaica as the country begins its clean up from the hurricane.
President Donald Trump, who is in the final leg of his Asian tour, said the US is prepared to aid Jamaica in its recovery. “We’re watching it closely and we’re prepared to move, but it’s doing tremendous damage,” he said from Air Force One.
Hurricane Melissa is about the size of Texas
From CNN Meteorologist Briana Waxman
Melissa isn’t just powerful — it’s big. Texas big.
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CNN Weather
Texas is about 770 miles across from west to east, so you could say this storm is roughly as wide as Texas when you account for its full “wingspan,” or wind field.
Another way to picture it: hurricane-force winds (74+ mph) reach about 30 miles from the center, or about the size of the Houston metro area.
And the tropical-storm-force winds (39 to 73 mph) stretch nearly 200 miles from the core, which is about the distance from Dallas to Austin or Houston to San Antonio.
That means even areas well away from Melissa’s center are feeling strong, damaging winds and dangerous surf.
China sent aid parcels to Cuba ahead of Hurricane Melissa
From CNN’s Hanna Park
China’s ambassador to Cuba shared a video on social media showing hundreds of boxes labeled as “family kit” being transported from a warehouse.
“The family kits donated by China are now being shipped from Havana to support the eastern provinces in responding to Hurricane Melissa,” Hua Xin wrote
1 hr 1 min ago
Melissa prompts evacuations in the Bahamas
From CNN’s Hanna Park and Martin Goillandeau
Hurricane Melissa is on a path toward the central and southeastern Bahamas, with conditions expected to deteriorate quickly by Wednesday, according to the country’s Disaster Risk Management Authority.
Evacuation orders have been issued for six islands in the Bahamas, including Acklins and Crooked Island, as officials brace for flooding and a possible 8-foot storm surge, the statement said. A hurricane warning is in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas.
“The time for preparation has now come to an end,” State Minister Leon Lundy said in a news conference on Tuesday.
Lundy urged residents still in the storm’s path to seek secure shelter immediately.
CNN