Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba early Wednesday near Chivirico, Santiago de Cuba province, bringing winds of 193 kilometers per hour. The Category 3 storm, one of the Atlantic\u2019s strongest on record, forced the evacuation of more than 700,000 people, according to President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forecasters warned that Melissa would cause massive destruction across Santiago de Cuba and neighboring regions. The storm threatened storm surges up to 3.6 meters and rainfall exceeding 51 centimeters, raising fears of widespread flooding and landslides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melissa is expected to cross Cuba through Wednesday morning before moving toward the Bahamas later in the day. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned of life-threatening conditions and issued a hurricane watch for Bermuda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President D\u00edaz-Canel said over half a million Cubans had been safely evacuated. \u201cWe know there will be severe damage,\u201d he said in a televised address. \u201cNo one will be left behind, and every available resource will protect our people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials warned that Hurricane Melissa could worsen Cuba\u2019s already severe economic crisis. The island faces crippling power outages, food shortages, and a strained infrastructure, all likely to be aggravated by the hurricane\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D\u00edaz-Canel described the storm as \u201cthe strongest ever to hit national territory\u201d and urged citizens to remain cautious. Authorities suspended classes in all provinces from Guant\u00e1namo in the east to Camag\u00fcey in central Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe damage will be extensive,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said. \u201cOur response teams are mobilized, and recovery efforts will begin as soon as conditions allow.\u201d The president emphasized unity and discipline as the country braces for cleanup and reconstruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cuba\u2019s state media reported that emergency shelters were operating at full capacity, while military units worked to restore power and communication networks disrupted by the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Melissa moved north, Jamaica began assessing the devastation left behind. Deputy Disaster Risk Management Council chairman Desmond McKenzie confirmed heavy damage in southern Clarendon and the parish of St. Elizabeth, which was \u201ccompletely under water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The storm damaged four hospitals and forced the evacuation of 75 patients after one facility lost power. More than half a million residents remained without electricity Tuesday night, with fallen trees, power lines, and floodwaters cutting off many communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials announced plans to reopen Jamaica\u2019s airports by Thursday to expedite relief supplies and humanitarian aid. The government vowed rapid repairs to essential infrastructure and medical services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melissa has already claimed seven lives across the Caribbean \u2014 three in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic. Another person remains missing. The region now faces the challenge of recovery as the storm continues its destructive path toward the Bahamas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba early Wednesday near Chivirico, Santiago de Cuba province, bringing winds of 193 kilometers per hour. The Category 3 storm, one of the Atlantic\u2019s strongest on record, forced the evacuation of more than 700,000 people, according to President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel. Forecasters warned that Melissa would cause massive destruction across Santiago de<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment-sustainability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pappusaha.com\/euronews24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}