Hurricane Melissa leaves Jamaica devastated. And, the shutdown's impact on airports
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Today, Jamaica is surveying the damage left behind by Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm that made landfall yesterday. The most populous part of the country, the capital Kingston, missed the brunt of the storm. The government says the international airport could reopen for relief flights as early as tomorrow. Meanwhile, the storm is battering the west coast of Cuba.
toggle caption Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
🎧 More than half a million people are without power, and every region of Jamaica is facing blocked roads and downed power lines, according to the country's government. NPR's Eyder Peralta tells Up First that the biggest concern for the country currently is Western Jamaica, which was severely impacted when the storm made landfall with winds reaching 185 miles per hour and generated a storm surge of up to 13 feet.
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