Jamaica declares disaster as ‘Monstrous Melissa’ ravages island

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a “disaster area” aft Hurricane Melissa barrelled crossed the Caribbean land arsenic 1 of the astir almighty storms connected record, leaving down a way of devastation.

The hurricane – which made landfall arsenic a Category 5 tempest connected Tuesday – ripped disconnected the roofs of homes, inundated the nation’s “bread basket”, and felled powerfulness lines and trees, leaving astir of its 2.8 cardinal radical without electricity.

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Melissa took hours to transverse implicit Jamaica, a transition implicit onshore that diminished its winds, dropping it down to a Category 3 storm, earlier it ramped backmost up arsenic it continued connected Wednesday towards Cuba.

Holness said successful a bid of posts connected X that the tempest has “ravaged” his state and the catastrophe declaration gives his authorities “tools to proceed managing” its effect to the storm.

“It is wide that wherever the oculus of the hurricane hit, determination would beryllium devastating impact,” helium told the United States quality transmission CNN precocious connected Tuesday. “Reports we person had truthful acold see harm to hospitals, important harm to residential property, lodging and commercialized spot arsenic well, and harm to our roadworthy infrastructure.”

Holness said helium does not person immoderate confirmed reports of deaths astatine the moment. “But with a Category 5 hurricane, … we are expecting immoderate nonaccomplishment of life,” helium added.

The premier curate said his authorities was mobilising rapidly to commencement alleviation and betterment efforts by Wednesday morning.

Even earlier Melissa slammed into Jamaica, 7 deaths – 3 successful Jamaica, 3 successful Haiti and 1 successful the Dominican Republic – were caused by the hurricane.

Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s section authorities minister, told reporters connected Tuesday evening that the tempest had caused harm crossed astir each parish successful the state and near astir of the land without electricity.

He said the tempest had enactment the parish of St Elizabeth, the country’s main cultivation region, “under water”.

“The harm to St Elizabeth is extensive, based connected what we person seen,” the curate said, adding that “almost each parish is experiencing blocked roads, fallen trees and inferior poles, and excess flooding successful galore communities.”

“Work is presently connected the mode to reconstruct our service, to springiness priorities to the captious facilities, specified arsenic hospitals and h2o and pumping stations,” helium added.

The tempest caused “significant damage” to astatine slightest 4 hospitals, Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.

A extortion was wholly torn disconnected a gathering astatine a conception of the Savanna La Mar Public General Hospital owed to the transition of Hurricane Melissa. The strategy made landfall earlier contiguous adjacent New Hope territory successful Westmoreland, Jamaica. #GLNRToday #TrackingMelissa pic.twitter.com/zBnm9bu4Oq

— Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) October 28, 2025

‘Monstrous Melissa’

Robian Williams, a writer with the Nationwide News Network vigor broadcaster successful Kingston, told Al Jazeera that the tempest was the “worst we’ve ever experienced”.

“It’s genuinely heartbreaking, devastating,” she said from the capital.

“We’re calling Hurricane Melissa ‘Monstrous Melissa’ present successful Jamaica due to the fact that that’s however almighty she was. … The devastation is widespread, mostly being felt and inactive being felt successful the occidental ends of the state astatine this constituent successful time. So galore homes, truthful galore radical person been displaced,” she said.

“We did prepare, but determination wasn’t overmuch that we could person done.”

Trout Hall Rd, Clarendon#TrackingMelissa #HurricaneMelissa #Jamaica @CVMTV pic.twitter.com/bTop93pOvp

— Giovanni R. Dennis (@GiovanniRDennis) October 28, 2025

In Kingston, Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist, said her location was devastated by the storm.

“My sister … explained that parts of our extortion was blown disconnected and different parts caved successful and the full location was flooded,” she told the AFP quality agency. “Outside structures similar our outdoor kitchen, canine kennel and workplace carnal pens were besides gone, destroyed.”

Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP that those successful the superior were “lucky” but helium feared for radical successful Jamaica’s much agrarian areas.

“My bosom goes retired to the folks surviving connected the occidental extremity of the island,” helium said.

Melissa restrengthens

The US National Hurricane Center warned connected Tuesday nighttime that Melissa was restrengthening arsenic it approached eastbound Cuba.

“Expected to marque landfall determination arsenic an highly unsafe large hurricane successful the adjacent fewer hours,” the centre warned astatine 11pm Cuba clip connected Tuesday (03:00 GMT connected Wednesday).

Authorities successful Cuba person evacuated much than 700,000 people, according to Granma, the authoritative newspaper, and forecasters said the Category 4 tempest would unleash catastrophic harm successful Santiago de Cuba and adjacent areas.

People structure from the rainfall successful Santiago de Cuba connected October 28, 2025 [Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA]

A hurricane informing was successful effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas as good arsenic for the southeastern and cardinal Bahamas. A hurricane ticker was successful effect for Bermuda.

The tempest was expected to make a tempest surge of up to 3.6 metres (12ft) successful the portion and driblet up to 51cm (20 inches) of rainfall successful parts of eastbound Cuba.

“There volition beryllium a batch of enactment to do. We cognize determination volition beryllium a batch of damage,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel said successful a televised code successful which helium assured that “no 1 is near down and nary resources are spared to support the lives of the population”.

At the aforesaid time, helium urged Cubans not to underestimate the powerfulness of Hurricane Melissa, “the strongest ever to deed nationalist territory”.

Climate change

Although Jamaica and Cuba are utilized to hurricanes, climate change is making the storms much severe.

British-Jamaican clime alteration activistic and writer Mikaela Loach said successful a video shared connected societal media that Melissa “gained vigor from the highly and unnaturally hot seas successful the Caribbean”.

“These oversea temperatures are not natural,” Loach said. “They’re highly blistery due to the fact that of the gasses that person resulted from burning fossil fuels.”

“Countries similar Jamaica, countries that are astir susceptible to clime catastrophe are besides countries that person had their wealthiness and resources stripped distant from them done assemblage bondage,” Loach added.

Speaking astatine the United Nations General Assembly successful September, Holness urged affluent countries to summation clime financing to assistance countries similar Jamaica with adapting to the effects of a warming world.

“Climate alteration is not a distant menace oregon an world consideration. It is simply a regular world for tiny land processing states similar Jamaica,” helium said.

Jamaica is liable for conscionable 0.02 percent of planetary greenhouse state emissions, which origin planetary warming, according to information from the World Resources Institute.

But similar different tropical islands, it is expected to proceed to carnivore the brunt of worsening clime effects.