📋 Tender Overview
On October 28, Hurricane Melissa - one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, devastated Jamaica with a level 5 storm intensity, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson storm scale. The storm has now weakened to category 3 and is moving towards Cuba. The electricity and telecommunications systems on most of the island were paralyzed, many residential areas lost contact completely - Photo: JAMAICA OBSERVER With winds of up to 300 km/h, Storm Melissa brought heavy rain and caused heavy damage to Jamaica, knocking down many trees and causing widespread power outages. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the entire country a disaster area, urging people to absolutely not leave their shelters due to the risk of landslides and serious flooding. He said many hospitals, bridges and residential areas in the Southwest, especially in Saint Elizabeth, were submerged by water, calling this the most serious damage in Jamaicas modern history.Autoplay later3Current Time0:00/Duration0:00Video- -Storm hunter- of the US Air Force flies straight into the heart of the strongest storm of the year Melissa00:00:19 Storm hunter of the US Air Force flies into super storm Melissa. Source: US Air Force The Jamaican government confirmed at least 3 people died in the country, bringing the total number of deaths due to Hurricane Melisa in the Caribbean region (including Haiti, Dominican Republic and Jamaica) to 7 people. Many key agricultural areas were severely damaged, including Saint Elizabeth, known as the agricultural product basket of the country, almost completely lost. The electricity and telecommunications systems on most of the island were paralyzed, and many residential areas lost contact completely. About 25,000 tourists are stranded at resorts, while flash floods and rising sea levels are isolating many communities. A gas station in Montego Bay city, Jamaica was damaged by storm Melissa - Photo: Xinhua News Agency Jamaicas Minister of Environment said the impact of storm Melissa was destructive, causing severe destruction of health, transportation and agricultural infrastructure. The government also warned people to be wary of crocodiles that could drift into residential areas due to heavy rains and floods. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the center of storm Melissa is currently moving north - northeast, traveling 13 km per hour. Although the wind speed has decreased to about 230 km/h, Melissa is still considered extremely dangerous, possibly causing flash floods, landslides, high tides and large waves when passing through Cuba and the Bahamas in the next 1-2 days. According to a reporter from the Vietnam News Agency in Havana, the UN has activated the Contingency Action Mechanism to support Cuba and Jamaica in responding to the storm. In Cuba, more than 100 tons of rice, water purifiers, fuel and hygiene kits for 6,500 people are being urgently transported to the provinces of Villa Clara and Holguin. The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba said about 650,000 Cubans had been evacuated, and estimated that millions of people could be indirectly affected by disruptions to transport and food supply chains. In Jamaica, the UN is planning an airlift. 2,000 relief kits from the humanitarian stockpile in Barbados as soon as flight conditions permit. The Jamaica Red Cross is also distributing drinking water and hygiene items to people in isolated areas. Due to the impact of storm Melissa, the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic received heavy rain, causing many roads to be flooded - Photo: AP International climate experts believe that Melissa is a clear demonstration of global climate change, with rising sea surface temperatures and more humid air fueling the storm to maintain record strength for many days. Climate scientist Daniel Gilford commented: Human-caused climate change is making all the worst elements of the world worse. Storm Melissa became more terrible - from extreme rain to flash floods and wind speeds. Melissa is classified in the group of storms with destructive power equal to or exceeding that of historical super storms such as Katrina (2005), Maria (2017) or Harvey (2017)./.See moreSee moreSee moreSee moreSee moreSee moreSee more
