Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean on Wednesday, leaving at least 25 dead in Haiti and causing devastation across Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas. The Category 5 storm made history as the strongest hurricane to directly hit Jamaica, with sustained winds of 185 mph (298 kph).
In Haiti, heavy rains triggered floods in Petit-Goave, a coastal town 64 km west of Port-au-Prince, killing at least 25 people, including 10 children, and leaving 12 missing. Over 1,000 homes were flooded, particularly affecting displaced families already struggling with gang violence and food shortages. Residents described the flooding as life-threatening, saying aid arrived too slowly.
Melissa first hit Jamaica on Tuesday, causing severe damage in areas still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Beryl. Preliminary estimates by AccuWeather suggest the storm caused $22 billion in damages and could take a decade to rebuild. About 77% of the island was without electricity, and hundreds of communities were left isolated.
In Cuba, authorities evacuated around 735,000 people as the storm approached, particularly in Santiago province. No deaths were reported, but President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned of ongoing rains and widespread crop damage. Melissa’s interaction with Cuba’s mountainous terrain caused heavy rainfall, compounding existing shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
Meteorologists at AccuWeather ranked Melissa as the third-most intense Caribbean hurricane, after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988. Scientists attribute the rapid intensification to warming ocean waters fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, prompting calls from Caribbean leaders for aid and reparations.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) urged wealthier nations to increase contributions to the U.N.’s “loss and damage” fund, established in 2023 to help developing nations recover from climate-related disasters.
Residents across affected areas described the storm’s destruction in personal terms.
More than 900 suspected cases of Ebola have been identified, including 101 confirmed cases, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros A...
A peace agreement between Washington and Tehran is yet to materialise, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that negotiations are incomplete and a...
Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the “unbreakable friendship” between China and Pakistan as he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in ...
A second group of Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group has departed a refugee camp in north-east Syria and may return to Au...
Pope Leo XIV has issued a historic apology for the Catholic Church’s past role in legitimising slavery, describing it as a “wound in Christian mem...
More than 900 suspected cases of Ebola have been identified, including 101 confirmed cases, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
A peace agreement between Washington and Tehran is yet to materialise, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that negotiations are incomplete and an Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman saying that a deal isn't imminent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the “unbreakable friendship” between China and Pakistan as he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Monday, a day after companies from both countries signed cooperation agreements worth $1.22 billion.
A second group of Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group has departed a refugee camp in north-east Syria and may return to Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday.
The inaugural Enhanced Games began in Las Vegas on Sunday (24 May), launching one of the most controversial experiments in modern sport, in which athletes openly compete using performance-enhancing drugs banned under traditional anti-doping rules.
A peace agreement between Washington and Tehran is yet to materialise, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that negotiations are incomplete and an Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman saying that a deal isn't imminent.
A "largely negotiated" memorandum of understanding on an Iran peace deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday, though the Iranian Fars news agency disputed that claim.
Police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters in central Belgrade on Saturday, as tens of thousands gathered to demand early elections and an end to the more than decade-long rule of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić.
An explosion on a railway track in Pakistan's Quetta killed at least 24 people, news outlet Al Arabiya reported on Sunday, citing officials.
Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the “unbreakable friendship” between China and Pakistan as he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Monday, a day after companies from both countries signed cooperation agreements worth $1.22 billion.
More than 900 suspected cases of Ebola have been identified, including 101 confirmed cases, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
A second group of Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group has departed a refugee camp in north-east Syria and may return to Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday.
Pope Leo XIV has issued a historic apology for the Catholic Church’s past role in legitimising slavery, describing it as a “wound in Christian memory,” as he released a landmark encyclical addressing human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence.
Rescuers pulled two people from the rubble of a collapsed building under construction in the Philippines, raising the death toll to three. Search and rescue operations continued after scans detected signs of life beneath the debris.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment