Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded, made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28, inflicting catastrophic damage on the Caribbean nation. The storm struck near the community of New Hope as a Category 5 hurricane, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
At landfall, Melissa carried maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph) and a minimum central pressure of 892 millibars. These metrics tie the storm for the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfall by wind speed (matching the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and 2019’s Hurricane Dorian) and by pressure (matching the 1935 storm).
The impact on Jamaica was immediate and severe. Reports indicated heavy floodwaters, boulders tumbling onto roads, and numerous landslides. Prime Minister Andrew Holness officially declared the nation a “disaster area” and advised citizens that the infrastructure was not built to withstand such a force. “There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Mr. Holness stated at a press briefing.
Damage was reported as extensive in the parishes of St. Elizabeth and Clarendon. Officials reported that four main hospitals sustained damage, with one losing power, forcing the evacuation of 75 patients. Widespread power outages affected 540,000 customers, corresponding to 77% of the population. The prime minister’s office urged residents to remain in safe shelters, acknowledging the challenge would be the speed of recovery.
Widespread Flooding Causes Heavy Loss of Life
The storm’s slow movement and intense rainfall generated devastating floods across the region, resulting in a significant loss of life, particularly in Haiti. As the storm churned near the island, officials in Haiti reported that flooding had killed at least 40 people. The majority of these fatalities occurred in the southern coastal town of Petit-Goâve.
Jean Bertrand Subrème, the mayor of Petit-Goâve, confirmed that 25 people died in that municipality alone after the La Digue river breached its banks, inundating nearby homes. Mr. Subrème described the situation as overwhelming, noting that dozens of homes had collapsed and residents remained trapped under rubble.
In Jamaica, the death toll currently stands at eight. Police Superintendent Coleridge Minto confirmed that authorities had found four bodies in southwest Jamaica, including two that washed ashore in the Black River community.
The humanitarian situation has escalated rapidly. In Jamaica, the number of people seeking refuge in government shelters surpassed 25,000 by Wednesday morning. Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, assured the public that shelters would remain open indefinitely. The United Nations and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) are mobilizing support. The IFRC described the humanitarian threat as “severe and immediate,” highlighting the extreme vulnerability of informal settlements to the high winds and saturated soils. UN Women also expressed profound concern for the safety of women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by displacement and the breakdown of public services.
Cuba Evacuates as Storm Tracks North
After devastating Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa tracked northward, weakening slightly to a Category 3 storm before striking Cuba. In anticipation of the hurricane, the Cuban government implemented mass evacuation protocols. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel urged the population not to underestimate the storm, which he characterized as potentially the “strongest ever to hit national territory.”
Authorities in Cuba successfully evacuated more than 500,000 people from the storm’s path, with some reports indicating the number approached 700,000. Evacuations were concentrated in eastern provinces such as Holguín, where over 200,000 people were moved to safety. State television showed residents in rural areas securing crops and livestock ahead of the storm’s arrival.
Due to these extensive preparations, Cuban officials reported no fatalities as a result of the hurricane. José Rubiera, a prominent Cuban meteorologist and vice-president of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Hurricane Committee, confirmed the success of the protective measures despite the material damage the storm caused. The storm is expected to continue weakening as it moves over the Bahamas and potentially toward Bermuda.
Meteorological Analysis and Climate Factors
Meteorologists have described Hurricane Melissa as a “beast of a storm” due to its record-tying intensity and its rapid development. The storm underwent a process known as extreme rapid intensification, with its wind speeds increasing by approximately 70 mph (112 kph) in just 24 hours.
Climate scientists have linked this explosive intensification to the “rapid heating of the world’s oceans.” The WMO noted that Melissa’s path traversed waters with sea surface temperatures 1.9 to 2.8 degrees above average. Furthermore, this warmth extended hundreds of feet below the surface, meaning the storm’s churn—which typically brings up cooler water—instead brought up more warm water, providing additional fuel. An analysis cited by news organizations suggested that the anomalous water temperatures driving the storm were made up to 700 times more likely by human-caused climate change.
This 2025 hurricane is the strongest storm to make landfall in Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The event stands in sharp contrast to the 2019 storm of the same name; Tropical Storm Melissa in October 2019 was a weak, short-lived system. However, the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was also an active period that produced two Category 5 hurricanes, Dorian and Lorenzo.