Old Harbour Bay, Jamaica—As the grey Caribbean skies darkened and the sirens wailed along the southern coast, Jamaica braced for a storm unlike any in recent memory. Hurricane Melissa, now a formidable Category 4 hurricane, has grown stronger by the hour and is crawling closer to the island. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that Melissa could still climb to a devastating Category 5 before landfall.
As of Sunday, Melissa was churning westward at a sluggish 3-5 mph, positioned some 110–120 miles south of Kingston. Winds sustained near 140 mph underscore its major-hurricane status—and with ocean waters warm and atmosphere ripe, the stage is set for a possible cataclysm.
For Jamaicans, the threat isn’t just blistering wind. Experts flag a triple danger: torrential rain, crushing storm surge, and prolonged hurricane-force winds. Meteorologists warn that some communities could face up to 40 inches of rain, storm-surge levels of 9 to 13 feet along the south coast, and structural damage so severe that entire neighborhoods may be cut off.
Authorities have responded swiftly: Jamaica’s airports are shut, hundreds of shelters are open, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged the public to act now, saying this storm may affect “the entire Jamaica for days.” Yet in parts of Kingston and vulnerable eastern communities, some residents remain reluctant to evacuate—haunted by past experiences or simply unable to leave their homes behind.
One of the most unsettling elements of Melissa’s threat is its slow pace. While hurricanes that barrel through leave destruction in a few hours, a slow-moving storm like this one lets rain pile up, and as floodwaters rise, the danger escalates. The NHC warns that this lethargic crawl over warm seas “is a recipe for disaster” for Jamaica’s mountainous terrain and coastal lowlands.
In Old Harbour Bay and other parishes along the southern coast, residents are boarding up windows, hauling sandbags, and moving valuables to higher ground. Local fisherfolk are securing their boats and tying down their livelihoods. Yet even with preparation, forecasters say some impacts may simply be unavoidable: “We cannot fight nature,” one Kingston vendor sighed. “We can only hope we’re ready.”
The projected path suggests Melissa will pass directly over Jamaica late Monday into early Tuesday, then swing northeast toward southeastern Cuba and across the Bahamas mid-week. If the storm holds its intensity and strikes the island directly, it could rank among the strongest ever to make landfall in Jamaica.
For now, the time is shrinking. Officials warn that once the storm core arrives, rescue efforts may be impossible until conditions improve. Communities in coastal and mountainous terrain are racing against time to evacuate and secure themselves. As Jamaica holds its breath, one thing is clear: when Melissa hits, it may redefine devastation across the island.
