Prez Murmu’s Historic Rafale Sortie; Cat-5 Hurricane Melissa Pummels Jamaica

This special report covers two major events: President Draupadi Murmu’s historic sortie in a Rafale fighter jet and the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica. A World Meteorological Organization specialist said about the hurricane, ‘For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure’. President Murmu, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, flew from Ambala Air Force Station, marking her second flight in a combat aircraft after a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI in 2023. Meanwhile, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, one of the strongest in the nation’s recorded history, with winds up to 298 km/h. The storm has caused widespread power outages, flooding, and significant infrastructure damage, prompting Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness to declare the island a “disaster area”.