Holness said the government had not received any confirmed storm-related fatalities but, given the strength of the hurricane and the extent of the damage, “we are expecting that there would be some loss of life”.
Melissa’s winds subsided to 233 kilometres per hour, the NHC said, as the storm drifted past the mountainous island, lashing highland communities vulnerable to landslides and flooding.
The hurricane was forecast to curve to the north-east on a trajectory toward Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s second-most populous city.
“We should already be feeling its main influence this afternoon and evening,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a message published in state newspaper Granma, calling on citizens to heed evacuation orders.
