JAMAICA PREPARES FOR MOST DESTRUCTIVE HURRICANE MELISSA

Tue 28 October 2025:

Jamaica is bracing for Hurricane Melissa, predicted to be the most destructive storm on record to hit the Caribbean island. Forecasters say the Category 5 storm is likely to cause “catastrophic” flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

After Jamaica, Melissa is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba later today.

A hurricane warning has been declared for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin, while a tropical storm warning is in effect for Las Tunas.

Forecasters expect up to 51 centimetres (20 inches) of rain for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.

WATCH: Plane flies through year’s strongest storm

A US Air Force plane has flown inside Hurricane Melissa over the Caribbean, revealing a rare weather phenomenon known as the “stadium effect”, in which the eyewall of a hurricane is made up of a towering wall of clouds.… pic.twitter.com/lkdEWBCxO6

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) October 28, 2025

Officials said evacuations were under way for more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.

Melissa has also drenched the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a tropical storm warning still in effect for Haiti.

The hurricane was forecast to turn northeast after Cuba and strike the southeast Bahamas by Wednesday evening.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The hurricane originated as a group of thunderstorms off the coast of West Africa, which travelled west before reaching tropical storm status on October 21.

Over the weekend, Melissa became a Category 4 storm as it made its way west through the Caribbean Sea.

It intensified into a Category 5 storm – the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale – on Monday as it drew closer to Jamaica.

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Seven dead and 1 missing so far: What happened?

Melissa has already been blamed for the deaths of seven people: three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

Speaking from Kingston on Monday evening, Jamaican Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton said the three people on the island were killed as they cut down trees in preparation for the storm, including one who was electrocuted.

Tufton urged Jamaicans to be careful in their preparations. “If you need help, ask for help,” he said.

Meanwhile in Haiti, the Directorate General of Civil Protection reported two people were killed in a landslide on Thursday. A day earlier, a man was struck by a tree and killed.

And in the Dominican Republic, a 79-year-old man died after being swept away in a stream, officials said, while a 13-year-old boy remained missing.

What time is Hurricane Melissa hitting Jamaica?

Hurricane Melissa was still “slowly” moving towards Jamaica as of 4am local time (09:00 GMT).

Its full landfall is anticipated later this morning.

With Melissa’s centre located about 180km (115 miles) southwest of the island, the hurricane was edging closer to Jamaica at a speed of about 8 kilometres per hour (5 miles per hour) as it made a northeast turn.

The turn – which is expected to bring the hurricane’s eyewall first to Jamaica’s southern coast – will be accompanied by “an increase in forward speed”, the NHC said, “followed by a faster northeastward motion” on Wednesday and Thursday.

What is Melissa’s current wind speed and location?

Early today, Melissa was centred about 180km (115 miles) west-southwest of Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, and about 465km (290 miles) southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.

The system had maximum sustained winds of 280km/h (175mph) and was moving north-northeast at 8km/h (5mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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