The Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services SA (Conviasa) suspended flights to and from Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua, due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
The state airline reported in a statement that the measure, which came into effect on October 22 and will remain until Tuesday the 28th, was taken to guarantee the safe conduct of flights in the face of the development of said phenomenon.
Conviasa indicated that it will continue evaluating the evolution of the climate phenomenon before defining the new itinerary for the affected flights. “Rescheduling dates will be announced soon and any updates will be communicated in a timely manner,” he added.
To provide assistance to travelers, Conviasa had a direct communication channel, inviting passengers to write to [email protected] for more information about it.
Melissa became a category 1 hurricane this Saturday in the Caribbeanwhere it is expected to rapidly gain intensity until it becomes a dangerous storm that will bring heavy rains to Jamaica and portions of Hispaniola, reported the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The center of Melissa was this afternoon about 230 kilometers southeast of Kingston and about 380 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. with sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour and a slow movement towards the west-northwest at about 2 kilometers per houraccording to the most recent report from the NHC.
Forecasts from the Miami-based center warn that Melissa could strengthen rapidly in the next 24 hours, with the possibility of it evolving into a “major hurricane by Sunday.”
Until early next week, “catastrophic flash floods and landslides, both threatening to life,” are expected in Jamaica, currently under a hurricane warning, and portions of southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic, both under a watch for heavy rain.
Forecasters expect the cyclone to turn north and northeast between Monday and Tuesday.
With Melissa there are already 13 cyclones this season in the Atlantic: hurricanes Erin, Gabrielle, Humberto and Imelda, and storms Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dexter, Fernand, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo and Melissa, among which Chantal has been the only one to make landfall in the US in July, leaving two dead in North Carolina.
