Nations across the Caribbean were assessing the cost in lives and destruction from Hurricane Melissa, no more so than on Jamaica where at least 19 people died.
Oct. 31 The death toll from Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean stood at 40 early Friday, with at least 19 killed in Jamaica which took the brunt of the Category 5 storm packing winds of 185 mph and extreme rainfall.
Casualty numbers were likely to rise as authorities take stock and regain access to areas cut off by flooding or damage to roads and bridges.
Melissa was expected to pass close to Bermuda imminently, injecting extra moisture and heat into a separate, fast moving storm heading westerly in from the Atlantic toward New England, causing heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and squalls along the mid-Atlantic seaboard.
The main hurricane, now Category 2 — still with very high wind speeds and moving at a much accelerated 21 mph — may make one last port of call in or on Newfoundland late Friday, or first thing Saturday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was warning of high winds and potentially tonadoes in the Mid-Atlantic region and flood alerts and warnings were in place for inundations of 1 to 2 feet in at-risk shore districts from Virginia to Long Island and Connecticut.
