People walk on a street before Hurricane Melissa hits the city of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. (AFP pic)
KINGSTON: Hurricane Melissa picked up strength as it bore down on Cuba, where it is expected to make landfall today after ripping a path of destruction through Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record there, lashing the island nation with brutal winds and torrential rain.
The monster storm was still 175km away from Guantanamo late yesterday, but “re-strengthening” to a Category 4 hurricane “as it approaches eastern Cuba”, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.
The storm took hours to cross over Jamaica, a passage over land that diminished its winds, dropping down to a Category 3 – from the maximum level 5 – before ramping back up.
“Melissa is expected to remain a powerful hurricane when it moves across Cuba, the Bahamas, and near Bermuda,” the NHC said, adding that Melissa is expected to make landfall in Cuba “as an extremely dangerous major hurricane in the next few hours”.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area” and authorities warned residents to remain sheltered over continued flooding and landslide risk, as dangerous weather persisted even as the hurricane’s worst moved on.
Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist in Kingston, said her home was devastated by the storm.
“My sister… explained that parts of our roof was blown off and other parts caved in and the entire house was flooded,” she told AFP.
“Outside structures like our outdoor kitchen, dog kennel and farm animal pens were also gone, destroyed.”
The scale of Melissa’s damage in Jamaica was not yet clear: a comprehensive assessment could take days and much of the island was still without power, with communications networks badly disrupted.
At its peak, the storm packed ferocious sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. Immediate details regarding casualty figures were not available.
Government minister Desmond McKenzie said several hospitals had been damaged, including in Saint Elizabeth, a coastal district he said was “underwater”.
“The damage to Saint Elizabeth is extensive, based on what we have seen,” he told a briefing.
“Saint Elizabeth is the breadbasket of the country, and that has taken a beating. The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa,” he added.
The hurricane was the worst to ever strike Jamaica, hitting land with maximum wind speeds even more potent than most of recent history’s most brutal storms, including 2005’s Katrina, which ravaged the US city of New Orleans.
‘Severely damaged infrastructure’
Even before Melissa slammed into Jamaica, seven deaths – three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic — had been blamed on the deteriorating conditions.
Jamaica’s climate change minister told CNN that Melissa’s effect was “catastrophic,” citing flooded homes and “severely damaged public infrastructure” and hospitals.
Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP from Kingston that those in the capital were “lucky” but feared for fellow Jamaicans in the island’s more rural areas.
“My heart goes out to the folks living on the Western end of the island,” he said.
Climate change impact
Broad scientific consensus says human-driven climate change is responsible for intensified storms like Melissa, that are increasly frequent and bring higher potential for destruction and deadly flooding.
Melissa lingered over Jamaica long enough that the rains were particularly dire.
“Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse,” said climate scientist Daniel Gilford.
The Jamaican Red Cross, which was distributing drinking water and hygiene kits ahead of infrastructure disruptions, said Melissa’s “slow nature” exacerbated the anxiety.
The UN is planning an airlift of some 2,000 relief kits to Jamaica from a relief supply station in Barbados once air travel is possible.
Assistance is also planned to other impacted countries including Cuba and Haiti, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told journalits.
Jamaican officials said around 25,000 tourists were in the country famed for its normally crystalline waters.
Der Willkommensbonus für neue Spieler gehört zu den besten in der Branche und sorgt
dafür, dass Neulinge sofort einen starken Start
ins Spielvergnügen haben. WSM Casino bietet eine breite Palette attraktiver Bonusangebote, die sowohl neue als auch bestehende Spieler begeistern.
Diese Spiele bieten einzigartige Gewinnchancen und eine spannende Alternative zu den klassischen Casino-Spielen. Die Vielfalt der
Spielautomaten wird durch regelmäßige Turniere und
Wettbewerbe ergänzt, die zusätzliche Spannung und Gewinnmöglichkeiten bieten. Viele Automaten basieren auf beliebten Filmen, TV-Serien oder historischen Themen und bieten dadurch eine zusätzliche Unterhaltungsebene.
Als weitere Kontaktmöglichkeit steht die E-Mail-Adresse zur Verfügung.
Dafür müssen Sie auch keine eigene Anwendung herunterladen, sondern spielen mithilfe einer
Web-App. Neben Karten- und Tischspielen glänzt der Live-Bereich
aber auch mit Game Shows. Zahlen Sie jedoch mit dem WSM-Token ein, erhalten Sie exklusiv 200 anstelle von 10 Freispielen. Du kannst einzahlen und spielen, bevor die Verifizierung abgeschlossen ist – für Auszahlungen ist
jedoch ein Identitätsnachweis erforderlich. Falls Sie nicht mehr spielen möchten, empfehlen wir, das Konto zu deaktivieren.
Die beste Performance und Darstellung bietet jedoch Google
Chrome – dieser wird auch vom Anbieter selbst empfohlen. Der Willkommensbonus
im WSM Casino beträgt 100 % Ihrer ersten Einzahlung,
bis zu einem Maximum von 500 €. Nach der ersten Einzahlung erscheinen die Boni
und Freispiele automatisch in Ihrem Profil.
References:
https://online-spielhallen.de/vegaz-casino-aktionscode-vorteile-nutzung-und-wichtige-informationen/
We want you to be able to find the right online casino to play exactly what you need,
including live dealer games. In some instances, you may find that your chosen online casino offers more live dealer versions of a game,
than you can find in the online table games library. Craps is one
of those real money casino games that is relatively easy to start playing just using a basic strategy, but
also one that offers many different types of bets, all with their own odds and probabilities.
Either way, you can be sure that all the real money casinos on this page feature an outstanding
selection of table games and live casino games.
Of course, Australian online pokies aren’t
the only game type you can play. Most casinos promise fast payouts,
but Mafia Casino actually delivers them and rounds up the top three best casino sites.
Neospin is what we would consider to be the perfect all-rounder,
fully earning the title of the best online
casino in Australia. That said, Australian players are not breaking the law by joining
international casinos that accept Aussies.
Please ensure you comply with your local laws before engaging
with any online casino. While her core expertise lies in the
Australian online casino market, Mason also follows trends in North America,
Canada, Europe, and emerging crypto-casino ecosystems.
The online platform mirrors BetMGM Casino to a large degree, but has a lot to offer, particularly when it comes to the variety of slots,
jackpot games, and their unique, Virtual Sports game. They have also been known to offer a deposit match bonus,
sometimes combined with free play. Not only will you find the usual
casino games of blackjack and roulette, but they also offer great
versions of Sic Bo, Pai Gow, and many scratchcard-based games.
Just type ‘hold and win’ in the search bar
and check the results, as hold and win pokies often feature tiered jackpots.
I didn’t find any section for jackpot pokies, even though dozens are available.
It would also be beneficial to see more features for safe (responsible) gambling the next time I
return, considering the current options are limited to self-exclusion. But what really impressed me was the pokie lobby.
DragonSlots stood out as a top-notch mobile platform, particularly for pokies.
Join our newsletter and get access to the latest
bonuses With two casino floors packed with over 1,500 gaming machines
and tables, there’s always something happening. Check our responsible gambling page
for more information about how to manage your bankroll and make sure you stay
in control when playing. This is why I suggest you either time
your sessions or take breaks in between games.
Some games can be immersive, and you can easily lose track of
time.
References:
https://blackcoin.co/news-update-online-gambling/
online slots uk paypal
References:
shiftlycrew.com
casino paypal
References:
beaunex.net