Melissa, 'storm of the century', hits Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa yesterday made landfall in Jamaica, where sheltering residents braced themselves against ferocious winds, heavy flood waters and landslides from the category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.

- Natricia Duncan Kingston Anthony Lugg Portland Oliver Holmes

The slow-moving colossus was the most intense hurricane to hit Jamaica since records began in 1851 and was expected to linger over the island for hours before turning northeast. As the hurricane came ashore, its winds tore roofs off buildings and left boulders tumbling into roads.

Jamaica’s government said it had done all it could to prepare, ordering a mandatory evacuation of low-lying areas as it warned of severe impact for the island’s 2.8 million people.

Desmond McKenzie, deputy chair of Jamaica’s disaster risk management council, urged people to seek shelter and stay indoors as the storm crossed the island. “Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave,” he said.

The streets in the capital, Kingston, remained largely empty yesterday, with footage showing trees bent over by the force of wind.

"There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a category 5," the prime minister, Andrew Holness, said. "The question now is the speed of recovery. That's the challenge." Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds exceeding 157mph (250km/h).

The US National Hurricane Center reported that Melissa carried sustained wind speeds of 185 miles (295km)per hour, with higher gusts.