KINGSTON, Jamaica — After more than five days of issuing weather bulletins, the Meteorological Service of Jamaica (Met Service) says its team remains on high alert as rainfall linked to Hurricane Melissa begins to spread across the island.

The latest updates show that Melissa remains a Category 4 hurricane, moving westward with its centre positioned south of Kingston.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Principal Director for the Met Service Evan Thompson said the system has already passed the longitude of Morant Point and is now near the longitude of Kingston.

The outer bands of the storm are already bringing on-and-off showers to eastern parishes, with rainfall expected to intensify and spread islandwide through Sunday.

“The eastern part of the island seems to have been experiencing some rainfall,” Thompson explained. “It’s not consistent, just periods of rainfall coming from time to time, but we are experiencing some rainfall over sections of the island.”

Radar imagery operated by the Meteorological Service shows a well-defined eye and areas of dense cloud cover surrounding the hurricane. Lightning activity remains concentrated on the eastern side of the storm, but the white, overcast mass continues to drift toward the west.

The public is urged to stay tuned to official bulletins as Hurricane Melissa continues to move westward, with heavier rainfall and possible flooding expected in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, confirmed that all shelters are now operational, but said only 31 of 881 have citizens in them as people are refusing to evacuate even though the Jamaica Transit Company (JUTC) is providing transportation to the shelters.

He also urged the relevant individuals to secure cranes around the Corporate Area, warning that negligence could lead to accountability for any resulting loss of life.

On the matter of the homeless population, McKenzie said the Government has done its part in attempting to remove those at risk from the streets.

“I wanna make it clear that we have made all the necessary provisions to remove the homeless populations. We have provided public transport to take them to the various facilities right across St Andrew and we will continue to do so as long as conditions allow us to do so,” he said.