BLACK RIVER, Jamaica – New videos from Jamaica show catastrophic conditions bearing down on the island, as Melissa slammed the nation as a Category 5 hurricane on Tuesday.
The storm made landfall at 1 p.m. in the town of New Hope in southwest Jamaica, bringing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
About 12 miles southwest of New Hope in Black River, footage shows those powerful winds peeling back metal roofing from a home. Palm trees can be seen whipping around in the background as sheets of rain fall sideways around the home.
Roofing peels back on home in Black River, Jamaica.
(Rahjik Simms / X / FOX Weather)
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NHC said ahead of Melissa making landfall. “Take cover now! Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, and loss of life. Residents in Jamaica that experience the eye should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the backside of the eyewall of Melissa.”
For days, Jamaica’s government has been warning its residents and visitors to make preparations ahead of the monster storm’s landfall, and people have been rushing to stock up on food and water to sustain them through what will likely be long-duration power and communication outages due to the storm’s ferocious impacts.
HURRICANE MELISSA MAKES CATASTROPHIC LANDFALL IN JAMAICA
However, fears are growing that the Category 5 hurricane’s destructive 185-mph winds may be too strong for buildings to handle, and officials are warning that those winds will likely lead to “total structural failure” near the path of Melissa’s powerful core.
