Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica

So, Jason, what kind of preparations are people making? When the prime minister of Jamaica says that there is no infrastructure on the island that can withstand a category 5 storm, how are people going to prepare for this? Yeah, to put that into perspective, Vlad, I read that and saw his comments and I thought, there are not many places, not much infrastructure in the US that is built to withstand that-- maybe up to a 3, but a 5 is really questionable. And in a lot of places here-- I mean, you could see in the homes that are on the hillside. A lot of those are very strong, sturdy buildings, and still we saw people who are coming down into the city to stay in hotels here. And then in the areas around the city, a lot of these neighborhoods, some of these are just board homes, but people felt like they wanted to stay there because they wanted to protect their belongings. Now, in the really, really low-lying areas that flood regularly, not just when there is a hurricane, the government has said-- well, let's say they have affected the evacuation to have them go into the hundreds of shelters that are set up. But a lot of people are staying in their homes. They feel that they've made it through past storms, and they feel that they'll make it through this one.

All right, here's hoping. Jason Allen, you stay safe, you and your crew as well, my friend. We'll talk to you a little bit later. Thanks so much. All right, let's bring in CBS News Philadelphia meteorologist Andrew Kozak with the storm track. Andrew, I guess the one thing that I would wonder is how fast is this storm going to go through Jamaica? In other words, category 5, really, really rough, but can we expect it to be short or linger over the island? Unfortunately, Vlad, this is going to continue to linger. I mean, this is storm that you could walk quicker than it was actually moving, and that was the rule for the last couple of days. And now, as of 10 o'clock, this thing continues to increase right as it's ready to make landfall. Let's bring the map in and show you where it is right now. We are looking at this thing ready to get into Jamaica. The winds now 185 miles per hour. We were looking at this at 9 o'clock with a fresh update of 180 miles per hour. Overnight, it was sitting at 175. We have gusts way over 200 miles per hour, and this continues to move very slowly on land. This is going to be a prolonged issue all day long for the western part of the island. If you are not out now-- and this is the wording that the National Hurricane Center is using. If you're really not out of the area now, especially on the western part of the island, this could be your last chance. We're talking 185 mile per hour, winds gusts to 215. And believe it or not, it's picked up speed, the movement north-northeast at 7 miles per hour, but that is still very, very slow. The pressure all the way down at 892, and the lower this number is, the more strength the hurricane has. Right now, it's located about 45 miles south-southeast of Negril. So here it is right now, the well-defined eye, the huge, monster storm that this is ready to make landfall here within the next hour to maybe hour and a half at the pace that it's going. We have hurricane warnings and watches all across the Caribbean. We're talking after Jamaica, eastern Cuba. We have Haiti that will be brushed from the western edge of this or the eastern edge of this thing. And then we're talking about Bahamas. Now, the Bahamas are also something we're going to keep our eye on within the next 24 to 36 hours. Look at the area in red here. This is where we have the winds over 75 miles per hour. It will be across the island today, then overnight tonight hit Cuba. And then we're watching it weaken but still see a very, very strong hurricane across the Bahamas for tomorrow. Going to come back, Vlad. We'll track the rest of this as we continue to track Melissa today.

All right, Andrew, we'll check in with you a little bit later. Let's bring in Dr. Kevin Brown. He is the president of the University of Technology in Jamaica. Doctor, just how are you holding up there? How are people in your community feeling about this impending storm? Hi. Good morning. Yes, well, we've been anticipating the arrival of Melissa since last week, actually, but it's slowed down. So it didn't arrive until now, and it has certainly made landfall. We've been trying to make the best preparations that we can on campus. The University of Technology is the second-largest university in Jamaica. We have 12,000 students, 1,200 staff, and we've been working remotely since last week, Wednesday. So most staff and students are at home, but I still have 200 students who are currently on the campus riding out the storm. And since last night, Melissa made landfall, and it's been very rainy and extremely windy. And I was on campus last night, and we'd already started to see the impact with tree branches on the ground and so on. So yeah, it's really picked up. So what is most concerning for you, the faculty, and the students at the university, given that this storm is the strongest? I mean, no doubt, obviously, you're used to hurricanes in Jamaica, but a category 5 is something that many are not used to. So what is your biggest concern? That is so true because, well, I'm old enough to recall Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. I was a child when Gilbert hit, and it was devastating. I remember my next-door neighbor lost her entire roof, and a lot of houses were devastated by Hurricane Gilbert. I believe Jamaica is in a much better situation now. The way we construct our homes has improved, and there's a lot more hurricane resilience that's built in across the infrastructure of the country. And for me, my primary worry is really for the students who are on campus now because we have around 200 students who decided to remain on the campus there in the halls of residence. We have an auditorium where some are also staying. Some of the halls have backup power, but I certainly lost electric power last night. I'm now operating from a backup generator. We do have some backup generators on campus, but not all the buildings have coverage. So there are some challenges, I'm sure, that the students will face. And as soon as things settle down, I'll be eager to get back on campus to ensure that they have food because that's going to be the key thing, ensuring that they have food supplies because pretty much all shops in Jamaica are shut at the moment. Yeah, and we should point out to our viewers, Kevin, that we lost your picture, but we still have your voice, and we're grateful for that. I'm hoping you, your faculty, students, and your family stay safe in the wake of this impending storm. Dr. Kevin Brown, thank you very, very much. Please stay safe.