KINGSTON, Jamaica — Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms ever to strike Jamaica, pounded the island Tuesday with catastrophic winds and torrential rain before moving back out to sea on a deadly path toward eastern Cuba and the Bahamas.
The storm made landfall near Jamaica’s southwestern coast early Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, bringing sustained winds of about 185 mph (295 kph) and a central pressure near 892 millibars, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Melissa left a trail of destruction across several parishes, shredding rooftops, toppling trees, and inundating homes and roads with flash floods.
Authorities said at least three people have died and warned that the toll could rise as rescuers reach cut-off communities. More than 500,000 residents — roughly three-quarters of the island’s power customers — were left without electricity, and telecommunications services remained intermittent through the night.
In St. Elizabeth Parish, one of the hardest-hit regions, floodwaters swallowed parts of Black River Town. The Black River Hospital lost power and suffered roof damage, forcing the evacuation of some 75 patients. Shelters across the island housed about 15,000 people, many of whom fled low-lying coastal areas as the storm surge swept inland.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness described the situation as “grave and heartbreaking,” urging Jamaicans to stay indoors until emergency crews cleared debris and restored services. “We are facing one of the worst natural disasters in our country’s modern history,” he said in a televised address.
Satellite imagery showed Melissa’s eyewall cutting directly across Jamaica in less than five hours, leaving entire neighborhoods without roofs and power poles splintered across roads. Meteorologists said the storm ranks among the strongest landfalls in Jamaica’s recorded history, comparable only to Hurricane Gilbert (1988).
By Tuesday night, Melissa had weakened slightly to a Category 3 hurricane as it churned northwest over the Caribbean Sea, but forecasters warned it remained an “extremely dangerous” system. The hurricane is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba overnight, threatening provinces including Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguín, and Las Tunas with destructive winds, storm surge, and 10–20 inches (25–50 cm) of rainfall.
Cuban authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of residents from vulnerable coastal zones and shut down ports and flights across the region.
After crossing or skirting Cuba, Melissa is forecast to move toward the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, maintaining hurricane strength. A hurricane watch was also posted for Bermuda, which could feel the storm’s outer bands by late Thursday.
Coastal erosion and storm surge near Westmoreland (CBS News )
The National Hurricane Center cautioned that dangerous swells and rip currents will continue to pound Jamaica and surrounding islands for days. Even as the core moves away, landslides, flash floods, and coastal erosion remain major risks for Jamaica’s mountainous interior and southern coastline.
The Government of Jamaica has mobilized the National Disaster Response Team, supported by defense and police units conducting rescue missions in cut-off communities. Neighboring Caribbean states, including Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, have pledged humanitarian support.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) described Melissa as “the most intense storm to hit Jamaica this century,” warning that its rapid intensification and destructive power underscore growing climate-related risks in the Caribbean.
International aid agencies are preparing to deploy emergency relief once weather conditions improve. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) said damage-assessment teams would arrive in Jamaica within 24 hours.
Melissa’s impact has renewed debate about the Caribbean’s preparedness for supercharged tropical systems fueled by warming oceans. Meteorologists noted that sea-surface temperatures around Jamaica were 2–3 °C above average before landfall — a factor that likely contributed to the hurricane’s rapid intensification from a Category 2 to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours.
As daylight broke over Jamaica, the scale of destruction began to emerge: washed-out bridges, flattened crops, and entire neighborhoods underwater. Emergency officials warned that full restoration of electricity and road access could take weeks.
“This is a national tragedy,” said Holness. “But Jamaica will rebuild — stronger, together.”
In Georgetown, the Government of Guyana announced that its Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has activated a standby humanitarian response mechanism to assist Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. President Irfaan Ali, who has been monitoring developments while traveling abroad, said Guyana “stands in full solidarity with the Government and people of Jamaica” and is prepared to dispatch emergency supplies, technical support, and disaster-response personnel as soon as clearance is granted.
The CDC has already begun coordinating with CDEMA and Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to provide logistical assistance. Local private-sector partners and non-governmental organizations are also mobilizing relief packages, including medical supplies, food, and potable water, for deployment once conditions permit.
Melissa is expected to reach the Bahamas by Thursday, gradually weakening but still packing hurricane-force winds and torrential rain.