Hurricane Melissa’s rampage across the Caribbean has left a scar that will not soon fade, with at least 49 people confirmed dead and billions of dollars in damage. The storm, described by meteorologists as the most forceful hurricane ever to strike Jamaica and among the strongest in Atlantic history, unleashed its fury beginning October 28, 2025, before continuing its destructive path through Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, and toward Bermuda.
Jamaica, where Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane packing winds up to 185 mph (295 km/h), bore the brunt of the devastation. According to Jamaica’s Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon, “there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened.” The storm’s impact was so severe that satellite imagery revealed almost all buildings in some villages were destroyed, with western regions suffering the worst.
As of October 31, 2025, at least 19 people had died in Jamaica. The toll is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue. Many Jamaicans are now left homeless, with families living on the streets or in makeshift shelters. Electricity remains out for most of the island, and food and clean water are growing scarce. The BBC reported scenes of desperation, with people trying to salvage what little remained from homes inundated by floodwaters and mud.
Olivia Cream, a resident of Black River who lost her house to the storm, recounted to the BBC, “We watched everything come apart around us, we watched 30ft waves come in and throw everything into the sea.” She described her town as resembling “Hiroshima” or “the Gaza Strip,” with whole families, including infants, left with nothing.
The storm’s slow pace only worsened the damage, as noted by AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter, who said, “Slow-moving major hurricanes often go down in history as some of the deadliest and most destructive storms on record. This is a dire situation unfolding in slow motion.” AccuWeather estimates the economic loss and damage at an eye-watering $48 billion to $52 billion across the western Caribbean.
Travel and aid efforts have been severely hampered. The journey from Mandeville to Black River, normally just an hour, stretched to eight hours due to destroyed roads and fallen trees. Kingston’s main airport has largely returned to normal, allowing aid to begin flowing in, but smaller regional airports near the hardest-hit areas remain only partly operational. Relief convoys and army vehicles are struggling to reach marooned communities, with many roads still impassable.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness acknowledged the overwhelming scale of the disaster, confirming to the media that the country had suffered “damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well, and damage to our road infrastructure.” Yet, he struck a note of resilience: “Our country has been ravaged by Hurricane Melissa, but we will rebuild and we will do so even better than before.”
In the southwestern parish of St Elizabeth, the situation was especially dire, with the area reportedly left completely “underwater.” More than 500,000 residents in Jamaica were left without power in the aftermath, and over 70% of electrical customers remained in the dark as of Thursday morning, according to Energy Minister Daryl Vaz. Many schools and public facilities were without water or electricity, and the sound of generators—along with the smell of gasoline and mud—filled the air in towns like Santa Cruz.
Haiti, though not directly struck by the hurricane’s eye, suffered catastrophic flooding from torrential rains. At least 30 people died, including 23 in the southern town of Petit-Goave when a river burst its banks. Among the victims were at least 10 children, and authorities reported 20 more missing. The interim UN coordinator for Haiti, Gregoire Goodstein, said that around 15,000 people were sheltering in more than 120 emergency centers. Roads, houses, and farmlands were devastated, and full assessments are ongoing as many areas remain inaccessible.
Cuba, meanwhile, was battered after Melissa made landfall there as a Category 3 storm. President Miguel Díaz-Canel ordered mass evacuations, with at least 735,000 people moved to safety. While no fatalities were reported in Cuba, the damage to homes, crops, and infrastructure was extensive. Cuban authorities noted that almost 240 communities were cut off due to flooding and landslides, affecting as many as 140,000 residents. Santiago, Cuba’s second-largest city, saw residents returning to repair their homes, while tourists were relocated from vulnerable northern cays to inland hotels.
The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos were also placed on alert for “life-threatening storm surge” and heavy rainfall, as warned by the National Hurricane Center. The government of the Bahamas ordered evacuations in the southern parts of the archipelago, and although storm warnings were lifted by Thursday night, authorities had not yet given the “all clear.” Hundreds who evacuated awaited word on when they could return.
As the storm moved north, Bermuda braced for impact. The Bermuda Weather Service expected Melissa to pass as a Category 2 hurricane, with government offices and schools closed until Friday afternoon. Residents were urged to stay off the roads until the official “All Clear” was issued, allowing work crews to assess and clear debris.
International aid has begun to pour in. The World Food Programme coordinated logistics and emergency supplies across Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. The US State Department deployed a disaster response team to help with search and rescue and provide food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits, and temporary shelters. The UK government announced an additional £5 million ($6.71 million) in humanitarian funding, on top of £2.5 million pledged earlier in the week, and prepared flights to evacuate British nationals. Sir Keir Starmer described the scenes from Jamaica as “truly shocking.”
Jamaica’s military called on reserve personnel to assist with relief and rescue operations, and the government has been working to clear more than 130 blocked roads across the country. Relief flights and aid have started to reach the main airports, but the scale of need remains overwhelming. Supermarkets and gas stations in western Jamaica are crowded, with shortages of petrol and basic supplies reported.
Scientists point to a troubling trend: hurricanes like Melissa are intensifying faster and becoming more frequent due to warming ocean waters caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Caribbean leaders have called on wealthier nations to provide reparations or debt relief, but international climate funds have so far fallen short of their targets.
As of October 31, 2025, Melissa was last recorded as a Category 2 storm 264 km (164 miles) west of Bermuda, with sustained winds of 100 mph (161 kph). While the immediate threat to Bermuda was less severe than initially feared, the storm’s legacy of destruction across the Caribbean is profound. The road to recovery will be long, but the resilience of the region’s people—and the outpouring of international support—offers hope amid the devastation.
