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CATEGORY 5 Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica yesterday, causing widespread flooding and infrastructural damage with vicious 185 mph winds.

According to reports from Jamaica media houses, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the country a ‘disaster area’.

The Express spoke with one Jamaican resident, Perry Cummings Jr, yesterday via a WhatsApp exchange, who described tense hours as the hurricane moved across the island. “We’ve been getting heavy rain and wind since early morning, but thankfully, where we are. It’s not as bad as what we’re hearing from the eastern parishes. I am in St Catherine, but the parishes on the western side of the island, like Hanover, are experiencing the brute force of the hurricane.