Residents of Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth are being warned to brace for catastrophic impact from Hurricane Melissa.

Currently, the system is expected to make landfall between East Westmoreland and Western St. Elizabeth later today or early tomorrow (October 28).

Principal Director, Meteorological Services Branch in the Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Evan Thompson, said though Westmoreland is not accustomed to impacts from major hurricanes, this time will be different.

“With Hurricane Melissa, what is expected is that it will turn into the country and be either over Westmoreland or it could be near the border on the St. Elizabeth side. But either way, Westmoreland [would be] very close to the centre of the system. That means that you’re going to have the most intense kind of activity from it. It means torrential rainfall, flooding, heavy and very strong winds that are going to be in that area,” he said.

Mr. Thompson was speaking in an interview with JIS News, following this morning’s Press Briefing at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Headquarters on Haining Road, in Kingston.

Although Melissa is now a Category 5 system, it is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane.

“If it’s a Category 4 hurricane, they consider it to cause catastrophic damage. That means that we’re going to see homes being demolished, especially if they’re not constructed with firm concrete or blocks. The roofs are also going to be lifted most likely in this area. Downed power lines, downed trees, even large trees are likely to be brought down because of a category four or five hurricane, which is what is expected in the area,” Mr. Thompson said.

“We just have to prepare for it. Even if it doesn’t actually happen and we manage to escape the wrath of it, we’re going to be close enough to get a lot of the strong winds and a lot of the heavy rainfall,” he continued.

For access to shelters and emergency hotlines, persons can click here.