Hurricane Melissa tore through the northern Caribbean this week, leaving widespread destruction across Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti before accelerating toward Bermuda on Thursday. The powerful storm has killed at least 29 people — 25 in Haiti and four in Jamaica — and displaced tens of thousands as it continues its march across the Atlantic.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Melissa was packing sustained winds of around 105 miles per hour early Thursday, down from its Category 5 peak but still dangerous. The storm, now a Category 2 hurricane, was expected to pass northwest of Bermuda by late evening before weakening on Friday.
Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday as the strongest hurricane ever to make landfall on the island, with winds reaching 185 mph. In Montego Bay, residents waded through mud and debris as floodwaters engulfed entire neighborhoods. Across the island, the government reported extensive infrastructure damage and widespread power outages.
In Haiti, the storm’s slow pace made it especially destructive. Though it did not make direct landfall, torrential rains caused rivers to overflow, flooding homes and roads in multiple provinces. Authorities confirmed 25 deaths — including 10 children — and said 12 people remain missing. More than 1,000 homes have been flooded and nearly 12,000 people have taken refuge in emergency shelters.
Cuba also faced severe impacts as Melissa swept across its eastern provinces. Officials said at least 241 communities in Santiago province remain cut off, affecting about 140,000 residents. More than 735,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, but communications and power outages persist across much of the region.
In the Bahamas, officials carried out one of the largest evacuation efforts in the nation’s history, flying out nearly 1,500 residents from low-lying islands before the storm’s arrival. Neighboring Turks and Caicos also experienced heavy rain and coastal flooding.
Forecasters at AccuWeather described Melissa as one of the most intense and slowest-moving hurricanes ever recorded in the Caribbean, factors that compounded its devastation. As Bermuda braces for impact, regional governments are struggling to assess the full scope of the damage — and the long recovery ahead.
Source: Reuters