Thursday, 30 October 2025
Thursday, 30 October 2025
Hurricane Melissa has unleashed death and devastation across the Caribbean, leaving at least 25 people dead in Haiti, crushing parts of Jamaica, and battering Cuba with record-breaking winds and floods.
The storm, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in history, continues its path across the region, flattening homes, cutting off power and trapping families under rubble.
Jean Bertrand Subrème, mayor of the southern Haitian town of Petit-Goâve, said 25 people died after the La Digue river burst its banks.
“I am overwhelmed by the situation,” he said. “People are still trapped under collapsed houses. We need the government to act immediately.”
With only one Civil Protection official in the area, locals have been forced to wade through chest-deep waters to search for survivors. Entire neighborhoods have vanished under mud and debris.
In Jamaica, the storm claimed the life of a baby when a tree came crashing down on a home. “That was hell. All night long, it was terrible,” said Reinaldo Charon in Santiago de Cuba, one of the few people stepping out through intermittent rain and wreckage.
Cuba woke up to scenes of ruin. Parts of Granma province, especially Jiguaní, were submerged, with more than 15 inches of rainfall recorded in Charco Redondo.
Governor Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez confirmed collapsed houses, blocked mountain roads, and torn-off roofs. More than 735,000 people are now crammed inside emergency shelters.
Melissa is currently a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Centre. Moving northeast across Cuba at 14 mph, the storm is still strong enough to threaten the Bahamas and Bermuda next.
Forecasters warn that Melissa could bring a storm surge of up to 12 feet and rainfall of up to 20 inches, triggering fresh floods and landslides across eastern Cuba.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, addressing the nation, warned that the road to recovery will be long. “There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” he said, calling Melissa “the strongest ever to hit national territory.”
Across Jamaica, power lines are down and communication is cut off. “There’s a total communication blackout on that side,” said Richard Thompson, acting director general of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness.
More than half a million people remain without electricity. Deputy chairman Desmond McKenzie of the Disaster Risk Management Council said parts of Clarendon and St. Elizabeth are “underwater.”
Four hospitals were damaged, and one had to evacuate 75 patients after losing power. In Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth parish, homes were destroyed and streets turned into rivers of mud.
“I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” said resident Jennifer Small. “The entire hillside came down last night,” said another, Robert James. Officials hope to reopen airports by Thursday to rush in relief supplies.
The United States and Britain have begun mobilising aid for the battered Caribbean. “We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with critical lifesaving supplies,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Britain announced an emergency package of £2.5 million ($3.36 million), including shelter kits, water filters, and blankets for Jamaica.
“Specialist rapid deployment teams have also been positioned in the region to provide consular assistance round the clock to British nationals affected by the devastation of Hurricane Melissa,” said foreign minister Yvette Cooper.
A Royal Navy ship is on standby to assist, while Britain’s Ministry of Defence has sent a team to the Turks and Caicos Islands to help coordinate disaster management.
