Hurricane Melissa hits eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm

Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm after pummelling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated to shelters in Cuba, and a hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas.

Early on Wednesday, Melissa had top sustained winds of 115mph and was moving north east at 12mph, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami.

The hurricane was centred 60 miles west of Guantanamo and 230 miles south of the central Bahamas.

The NHC warned residents of Cuba to remain sheltered and that preparations for the storm in the Bahamas “should be rushed to completion.”

Melissa is forecast to cross the island through the morning and move into the Bahamas later on Wednesday. A hurricane watch is in effect for Bermuda.

The continuing intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, US forecasters said.

Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday with top sustained winds of 185mph.

The storm is expected to generate a storm surge of up to 12ft in the region and drop up to 20in of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.

“Numerous landslides are likely in those areas,” said Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which already has led to prolonged power blackouts, fuel shortages and food shortages.

“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a televised address, in which he assured that “no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population”.

He urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the strongest ever to hit national territory”.

Provinces from Guantanamo in the far east to Camaguey, almost in the centre of Cuba, had already suspended classes on Monday.

As Cuba prepared for the storm, officials in Jamaica prepared to fan out on Wednesday to assess the damage.

Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in southern Jamaica and in the south-western parish of St Elizabeth, which was “under water”, said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.

The storm also damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients, Mr McKenzie said.

More than half a million customers were without power late on Tuesday as officials reported that most of the island experienced downed trees, power lines and extensive flooding.

The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure the quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.

The storm has already been blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean – three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.