Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever recorded in Jamaica, moved toward Cuba after making landfall on the Caribbean island as a powerful Category 4 system, leaving widespread destruction and over half a million people without power.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Melissa came ashore near New Hope in southwestern Jamaica with sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), exceeding the Category 5 threshold on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
In St. Elizabeth parish, one of the hardest-hit areas, severe flooding was reported. “The parish is underwater,” a local official said, describing a growing humanitarian crisis.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed major damage nationwide. “Reports so far include damage to hospitals, significant destruction of residential and commercial buildings, and impacts on road infrastructure,” he said in an interview with CNN after the storm passed. He noted that while no storm-related deaths had yet been officially confirmed, loss of life was expected given the hurricane’s severity.
Calls for International Support
Although Jamaica is familiar with hurricanes, Melissa is the first Category 4 or 5 storm ever to strike the island directly. The government issued an urgent appeal for international assistance, particularly to support food security and farming.
“Food aid will be critical,” authorities warned, adding that tools, vehicle parts and seeds would be urgently needed to help farmers recover. Hurricane Melissa crossed some of Jamaica’s most productive agricultural regions, already weakened by last year’s devastating Hurricane Beryl.
Prime Minister Holness said the government had approved an emergency relief budget of $33 million, along with insurance and credit provisions aimed at covering damage “slightly greater than Beryl.”
Cuba on High Alert
After leaving Jamaica, Melissa continued moving toward southeastern Cuba, where authorities issued top-level weather alerts for the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma, areas prone to landslides and heavy flooding.
Meteorologists warned that Melissa’s slow movement could increase its destructive potential, leading to prolonged rainfall, storm surges and high coastal flooding risks.
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