Hurricane Melissa hits the coast of Cuba after causing severe damage in Jamaica Environment and climate

Hurricane Melissa hit the coast Cuba Early Wednesday morning hours after it caused major devastation in neighboring Jamaica when the strongest storm ever to hit that Caribbean island nation.

Melissa reached the southern coast of eastern Cuba with winds reaching speeds of 195 kilometers per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

The Cuban authorities announced the evacuation of about 735,000 people from their homes in the east of the country as the hurricane approached. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned on Tuesday that the storm would cause “serious damage” and urged residents to comply with evacuation orders.

Hurricane Melissa’s strength has decreased to Category 3, but it is still dangerous. It came ashore near the town of New Hope in southwest Jamaica on Tuesday, accompanied by sustained winds reaching speeds of about 280 kilometers per hour, according to the Weather Prediction Center in Miami.

Category 5 storms, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, carry winds of 157 miles per hour (about 250 kilometers per hour) and higher.

In southwest Jamaica, an official said that some buildings were under water, with more than 500,000 residents deprived of electricity. The hurricane caused widespread destruction in Jamaica, prompting authorities to issue mandatory evacuation orders.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: “The reports we have received so far include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential properties, housing and commercial properties as well, and damage to road infrastructure.”

Holness confirmed that the government had not received news of any confirmed deaths as a result of the storm, but given the strength of the hurricane and the extent of the damage, “we expect that there will be some loss of life,” while reports indicated the death of 3 people.

Meteorologists said that Melissa is ranked third as the strongest hurricane ever observed in the Caribbean after Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988, the last major storm to hit Jamaica.

Tropical cyclones form over the warm waters of the oceans, and scientists say that they intensify at a faster and greater rate as a result of the rising temperature of ocean waters. Many Caribbean leaders have called on rich countries that pollute heavily to provide compensation in the form of aid or debt relief for tropical island nations.

Melissa’s winds had calmed as the storm passed through the mountains of Jamaica, but it also hit residents of the highlands, which are vulnerable to landslides and floods. Late Tuesday, many areas remained isolated.

In the Bahamas, which is the next country after Cuba in Melissa’s path to the northeast, the government ordered the evacuation of residents in the southern parts of this archipelago.

In the far east, the island shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic faced days of torrential rain that killed at least four people, according to what authorities there said.