JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
We begin this hour with Hurricane Melissa. The massive Category 5 hurricane was packing 185-mile-an-hour winds as it made landfall in Jamaica, and it is likely to set records. NPR's Eyder Peralta is following this story from his base in Mexico. Hi there.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: Hey, Eyder. So tell us, where did this storm make landfall?
PERALTA: So the National Hurricane Center says this storm came in near the town of New Hope, which is on the southwestern coast of Jamaica. But the big headline here is that this is a monster storm, and that's not just some superlative we're using. This is history. The National Hurricane Center says this is one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall in the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Melissa continued to strengthen right up until landfall. When it hit land, it had howling winds and a central pressure of 892 millibars. And I mentioned central pressure because the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. Meteorologists say only six other storms on record have had a pressure lower than 900 millibars. And all of this is preliminary, but this storm will go down in history. According to meteorologist Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami, this may well challenge a nearly 100-year-old severity record in the Atlantic.
SUMMERS: Wow. OK. I mean, I know it's still pretty early, but what are we hearing from the island?
PERALTA: I mean, the only good news in all of this is that the storm went west, and Kingston, which is the biggest population center in the country, will not bear the brunt of this storm. In fact, our producer in Kingston was out on the streets as the storm made landfall. He's seen very little water, and the wind hasn't been terrible. He found people milling about. Rachel Silvera, a resident there, said that even though Jamaicans are in the middle of the Caribbean, this storm seemed to catch them by surprise.
RACHEL SILVERA: I think Jamaicans weren't expecting it because we've had so many close calls over the years that we sometimes don't take it as seriously as we should. But I think the western side of the country is going to feel it.
PERALTA: And she's right. The National Hurricane Center says we should expect catastrophic damage from this storm. In the area around the eye, in the western part of this country, the wind speeds are as bad as those in tornadoes.
SUMMERS: Eyder, what are we hearing at this point from the Jamaican government? And what can you tell us about the aid effort?
PERALTA: The Jamaican government had been urging people to evacuate. Overnight, about 6,000 people did get to shelters. In a press conference, government minister Desmond McKenzie said that they are getting calls from hard-hit areas, from people who are asking for transportation to shelters. But he says, at this point, the government can't get people out because the effects of the storm are already being felt.
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DESMOND MCKENZIE: We are having reports of widespread impact across several parishes, which are seeing increased number of land slippage, flooding, fire, storm surge and power outage.
PERALTA: The government expects that when all this is done, about 50,000 people will be displaced. But they say they're ready, that as soon as the storm passes, they have crews who will begin clearing roads, who will begin trying to restore power. The government says that it expects the international airport in Kingston to be reopened by Thursday, and that's important because that's going to be one of the main ways to get aid onto the island.
SUMMERS: And Eyder, just briefly, where is Hurricane Melissa headed?
PERALTA: Look, it's over Montego Bay now, and it's going to hit the northern part of Jamaica, obviously, and then the storm is expected to make landfall again in eastern Cuba, somewhere near Guantanamo Bay.
SUMMERS: NPR's Eyder Peralta reporting from his base in Mexico City. Eyder, thank you so much.
PERALTA: Thank you, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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