Hurricane Melissa devastates Haiti and Jamaica, leaving destruction across the Caribbean

Hurricane Melissa tore across the northern Caribbean on Wednesday, devastating Jamaica, battering Cuba’s east, and flooding parts of Haiti, where at least 25 people were killed.

The Category 5 storm, with winds of 185 mph (298 kph), was the strongest hurricane ever recorded to strike Jamaica directly.

As of Wednesday evening, Melissa had weakened to a Category 1 as it moved through the Bahamas, after forcing one of the largest evacuations in the country’s history. Around 1,500 people were flown out of low-lying islands ahead of the storm, which left extensive flooding and power outages.

In Haiti, authorities said at least 25 people died, mostly in Petit-Goave, a coastal town west of Port-au-Prince, where a river burst its banks. Twelve people remain missing. More than 1,000 homes were flooded and 12,000 people have taken shelter in emergency centres. Years of gang conflict and displacement have left over 1.3 million Haitians living in precarious conditions, now worsened by the floods.

“It’s impossible to sit or sleep,” one displaced resident told local media. “The water is everywhere, and help has been slow to come.”

‘Missiles blowing through the glass’

In Jamaica, the storm’s winds flattened homes, uprooted trees and left an estimated $22 billion in damages and economic losses, according to AccuWeather. Rebuilding, experts warn, could take a decade.

Melissa made landfall in the south-west on Tuesday, devastating St Elizabeth Parish, an agricultural hub already battered by last year’s Hurricane Beryl. Local officials said floodwaters washed up several bodies. About 77 per cent of Jamaica lost electricity as transmission lines collapsed under gale-force winds.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited Black River Hospital, the only public medical facility in St Elizabeth, where roofs were torn off and walls caved in. Staff told him they had treated patients through the night by flashlight.

“It was the most terrifying experience in all my life,” said one hospital worker. “At one point it was as if missiles were blowing through the glass.”

Jamaica’s government issued an “all-clear” for recovery efforts on Wednesday but kept emergency shelters open, saying thousands were still arriving from destroyed homes. Local government minister Desmond McKenzie said more than 25,000 people had been admitted. “No one must be turned back from the shelters,” he said.

Cuba counts the cost

Melissa hit Cuba overnight as a strong Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph (193 kph), making landfall in the rural, mountainous Guama region, west of Santiago de Cuba. Around 735,000 people were evacuated before the storm, but at least 240 communities were cut off after power and communication lines went down.

No deaths were reported, though President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island had suffered “extensive damage” and warned of further flooding as rain continued. Crops across eastern Cuba were heavily affected, worsening food shortages that have driven mass emigration since 2021.

AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said Melissa’s passage over the mountains reduced its wind intensity but released “tremendous amounts of rainfall” as moist air was forced upward, triggering landslides and flash floods.

Cuba’s emergency services said roads remained blocked and relief convoys were struggling to reach remote areas.

Rising seas, rising costs

Scientists say hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean are intensifying faster because of warming ocean waters driven by greenhouse-gas emissions. Melissa’s rapid growth, fuelled by record sea temperatures, has renewed calls from Caribbean leaders for greater international support to confront the climate crisis.

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, part of regional bloc CARICOM, said the storm underscored the need to strengthen the UN “loss and damage” fund — created to help vulnerable nations recover from extreme weather events.

“The frequency and ferocity of storms like Melissa show we are already living the reality of climate change,” the organisation said in a statement.

Established in 2023, the fund was meant to provide quick, reliable aid to developing nations hit by disasters. But contributions from wealthy countries have lagged, and access to financing remains slow.

In Cuba and Jamaica, both governments appealed for international assistance as relief operations expanded. The United Nations, European Union and several Latin American countries pledged cash, food and rescue teams.

A region in recovery

In Montego Bay, a popular Jamaican tourist destination, a woman described how rising water trapped her and her child inside their home.

“The water reached my waist, and rescuers had to break in to save us,” she said. “All the trees my dad planted — all of them are gone.”

Across the Caribbean, emergency teams are restoring communications, reopening airports and clearing debris. Aid agencies warn, however, that food and medical supplies remain critically low in several areas.

While Melissa has weakened as it moves north-east across the Bahamas, its legacy will endure: tens of thousands displaced, billions in losses, and a stark reminder of how fragile island nations are in an era of intensifying storms.

Tags

News climate hurricane Hurricane Melissa haiti Cuba Jamaica