The story
Category five hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica on Tuesday with violent winds reaching a high of 295 km/h. The storm them hit Cuba on Wednesday morning.
The Jamaican Prime Minister has declared the country a “disaster area” and warns of “devastating impacts”.
It will take time to know exactly how bad the damage is, but we know homes and hospitals have been badly affected and there is severe flooding across Jamaica.
It is the strongest storm on Earth so far this year and is one of the strongest storms in the Atlantic Ocean this century.
News headlines
Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica
The Guardian
As the Atlantic Ocean warms, climate change is fueling Hurricane Melissa’s ferocity
AP News
Storm chasers fly inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa
BBC News
Key words and phrases
make landfall
reach land
- The storm made landfall in the early hours of Saturday morning.
fuel
give energy to something
- The latest political scandal has fuelled outrage among the public.
the eye of (the storm)
the centre of a storm
- The eye of the storm passed right through the middle of our town.