TRANSCRIPT
Jamaica is bracing for what's expected be one of its strongest storms on record.
The US National Hurricane centre's director Michael Brennan says there will be multiple, life-threatening level hazards.“
We're expecting catastrophic wind impacts with total structural failure near where that eye wall moves across the island, especially in areas of higher terrain, we could see complete tree falls in the mountainous areas and just complete and total destruction of some structures in those regions.”
In Jamaica, residents are battening down for what's to come.
In the Harbour view community of the capital Kingston, Susan Brown gestures towards a large wave hitting the shore.
“Massive, massive, massive. It's coming, it's coming.”
“As a human being, I think they should evacuate and leave down here. Because down here does not look safe.”
A view shared by local resident Earl Cameron.
“This is not a joke. This is very serious guys. And this is going to be something different, will be astronomical. This will be hard to digest when this is over.”
Many have chosen to ride out the storm, prompting Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness to issue mandatory evacuation orders for several south coast communities.
“We have always had a very slow, if not non-response to the call for evacuation ... And that is why we emphasise preparation, because preparation lessens the damage.”
At a school-turned evacuation centre in Montego Bay, shelter manager Sandra Simon Clarke is preparing for impact.
"We have seen and heard that it's going to be very catastrophic. So we are expecting that persons will come to the shelter. So we are ready. So please don't be afraid. But remember, you need to pack your medication. Remember, you need to take a little food items with you because we don't have that at the shelter just now. "
Meanwhile, in Santiago de Cuba, evacuation centres are already receiving visitors, including evacuee Beatriz Caballero.
“The government quickly told me that I had to evacuate as soon as possible due to the proximity of this Category 5 hurricane. It is very dangerous.”
Cuba's president Miguel Diaz-Canel says the focus is on saving lives.
“And protecting the population is guaranteed if there's proper evacuation. Anything that's a flood zone, areas below dams, micro-dams, all of that must be protected.”
Chief Meteorologist at Climate Central, Bernadette Woods Placky, attributes the storm's increasing ferocity to warming oceans.
“Over 90 per cent of the extra heat that we trap in our Earth system goes into the oceans. And what that means is that our oceans are warming up. It plays out in many different ways, one of them being more fuel for these storms to intensify more rapidly.”
In Haiti's capital of Port-Au-Prince, Fortune Vital, who was displaced by the island nation's chronic gang violence now fears for his very survival.
“If the hurricane comes on top of all the problems we already have, we'll simply die. My kids, my wife, and my family are somewhere else; we have nothing to eat to survive.”
Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall early on Wednesday morning, Australian time.
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Hurricane Melissa starts lashing Jamaica as 'catastrophic' category 5 storm
