TERRIFYING footage shows the moment a plane is tossed around like a toy as it flies straight into the ferocious center of Hurricane Melissa.
Meanwhile, the UK has been forced to charter flights to evacuate Brits still stuck in Jamaica as they emerge from their shelters.
The storm-chasing plane shoots directly into Melissa’s eyewall, the cloud vortex where the winds peak.
Footage shows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) crew holding on as the plane is shaken violently.
A loud gushing sound fills the cabin and a dense white cloud is all that can be seen through the windows.
There are at least five crew members on board, all of whom are preparing for the roller coaster ride, along with a pet Kermit the Frog. swinging wildly from the ceiling.
FLASHED TO THE GROUND
Satellite images show extent of devastation in Jamaica as hurricane kills 34
They were experiencing some of the most extreme turbulence ever found in Land.
NOAA was breaking through the wall and reaching the eye of the storm, a vast 11-mile-wide circle where conditions are calm.
Stunning images of planes arriving inland have previously been shared, showing huge vertical banks of clouds.
This is known as the “stadium effect,” because the huge steep slopes surround and dwarf the viewer.
The UK government announced on Thursday that it was chartering planes to evacuate Britons still in Jamaica who want to leave.
Up to 8,000 UK citizens are believed to have been in Jamaica when Hurricane Melissa made landfall there on Tuesday with 185mph winds.
Some were tourists stranded in hotels, where they had to take refuge and endure the phenomenon. climate.
The Foreign Office said: “All British citizens who have already registered through the Register Your Presence portal will be automatically contacted and provided with a link to the booking portal once the airports are open.
“If you are a British citizen in Jamaica and wish to depart on a flight and have not yet registered your presence, you must do so immediately.”
He said priority will be given to the most vulnerable people, namely children and those who need medical care.
As the clouds cleared over Jamaica on Thursday, aerial and satellite images revealed the full extent of the destruction.
Plains of rubble emerged, with entire neighborhoods leveled, trees uprooted and once-bustling streets flooded.
Southwestern Jamaica, where the storm first hit, has borne the brunt of the destruction.
Many parts of St Elizabeth parish have been devastated, and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the town of Black River had been “totally destroyed”.
Holness said: “The damage is great, but we will dedicate all our energy to mount a strong recovery.”
He added that “between 80 and 90 percent of the roofs were destroyed,” along with hospitals, libraries, police stations, ports and local infrastructure.
More than three-quarters of Jamaicans were still without power as of Wednesday afternoon and large areas remained under water.
The Red Cross called the ordeal an “unprecedented disaster disaster” and the cleanup operation is expected to last months.
At least 34 people are known to have died across the Caribbean, and the storm is now moving toward the Bahamas with winds still exceeding 100 mph.
Confirmed deaths so far include 25 in Haitieight in Jamaica and one in the Dominican Republic, although there are more people missing and whose whereabouts are unknown.
It could be days before the magnitude of the loss of life and destruction is fully appreciated.
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Most of the deaths in Haiti – the most populous nation in the Caribbean – were caused by a river that overflowed after days of heavy rain, although the storm did not directly hit the island.
Melissa will become one of the strongest in the Atlantic. hurricanes ever, and it is officially the most powerful storm to hit Jamaica since records began.
