Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope, in southwestern Jamaica today, not only as the strongest hurricane on record to hit the island, but also as the strongest storm on Earth so far this year.

Sustained winds were around 185mph when the major category five hurricane slammed into Jamaica’s south coast, bringing an onslaught of extreme winds, torrential rain and a coastal storm surge – all of which will have devastating and long-lasting impacts.

Image: CSU/CIRA & NOAA – showing Hurricane Melissa close to landfall in Jamaica

The key messages for Jamaica in the National Hurricane Center’s Tuesday morning update are chilling:

“Remain sheltered! Catastrophic flash flooding, landslides, and destructive winds will continue through today, causing widespread infrastructure damage, power

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