Watch: Moment Hurricane Melissa tears through Jamaica’s resort town Montego Bay
Moment Hurricane Melissa tears through Jamaica’s resort town Montego Bay
Maira Butt29 October 2025 08:45
Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica with 185mph winds as thousands flee homes
Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled into roads as the “storm of the century” made landfall over the Caribbean island of 2.8 million people.
Thousands of people were warned to flee before destructive winds, flash flooding and landslides caused catastrophic damage.
Maira Butt29 October 2025 08:25
‘Brigades’ on standby, Cuba’s president assures
Brigades have already been deployed in eastern Cuba to support anticipated recovery efforts, Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel assured before the storm made landfall.
“Multi-pronged brigades are already deployed in the eastern region of the country—that is, where the provinces most affected by the hurricane are located—to work on recovery from the damage caused by the hurricane,” the president said in a speech on Tuesday.
“There are already electricity brigades, water resources brigades, communications brigades, and construction brigades that will work together with the forces in each territory to recover from the damage.”
He said UN system agencies had made aid resources available in advance.
James Reynolds29 October 2025 08:05
In pictures: Cubans brace ahead of Melissa’s arrival
People cover a car in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba (REUTERS)Residents evacuate under pouring rain from Playa Siboney to safe locations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, in Santiago de Cuba (AFP via Getty Images)People take their belongings to shelters ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s landfall in Caleta Blanca, Cuba (REUTERS)Residents drive a car through flooded areas before Hurricane Melissa hits the city of Santiago de Cuba (AFP via Getty Images)
James Reynolds29 October 2025 07:50
Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Cuba
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm early on Wednesday, with sustained winds hitting the south of the island, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
James Reynolds29 October 2025 07:34
Are you affected by Hurricane Melissa? Contact james.reynolds@independent.co.uk
James Reynolds29 October 2025 07:15
Hurricane Melissa to cause landslides and weaken Cuba economically
Hurricane Melissa barreled toward eastern Cuba, where it was expected to make landfall as a major storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.
More than 700,000 people were evacuated in Cuba, according to president Miguel Diaz-Canel, and forecasters said the category 3 storm would unleash catastrophic damage in Santiago de Cuba and nearby areas.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas, as well as for the southeastern and central Bahamas. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.
“Numerous landslides are likely in those areas,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which has already led to prolonged power blackouts, fuel shortages and food shortages.
“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” Dïaz-Canel said in a televised address, in which he assured that “no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population.”
Shweta Sharma29 October 2025 06:56
Jamaica launches official hurricane relief portal after devastating storm
The Jamaican government has unveiled an official website to coordinate relief and recovery after Hurricane Melissa tore across the island on Tuesday, leaving homes destroyed, hospitals flooded and hundreds of thousands without power.
Information minister Dana Morris Dixon said the site aims to centralise donations and real-time damage reports, warning people against fraudulent fund-raisers posing as relief drives.
Through the portal, residents can upload photos of flood damage or blocked roads to alert authorities, while an interactive shelter locator helps displaced families find refuge.
“It’s about mobilising resources – for people in Jamaica and our diaspora – to support recovery in a transparent way,” Dixon said.
(AP)
The site also lists urgent needs for the roughly 400,000 people affected, including shelter materials, hygiene kits, medical supplies and debris-clearing tools.
The storm unleashed torrential rain, flash flooding, and landslides, ripping roofs off homes, uprooting trees and power lines, and leaving more than half a million people without electricity.
In the southwestern town of Black River, floodwaters trapped families in their homes as emergency crews were unable to reach them due to dangerous conditions.
Across the island, boulders blocked roads, and hospitals were forced into emergency mode as flooding and power outages disrupted critical care.
Shweta Sharma29 October 2025 06:30
Hurricane Melissa to make landfall ‘soon’
Melissa is expected to make landfall along eastern Cuba’s southern coast anytime now as an extremely dangerous major hurricane, the National Hurricane Center has warned.
“Melissa is expected to make landfall soon along the Southern Coast of Eastern Cuba as an extremely dangerous major hurricane,” it said.
It has weakend slightly to a category 3 storm, but is expected to remain a powerful hurricane when it moves across Cuba and the Bahamas and passes near Bermuda.
At 10 p.m. local time, the storm was located about 80miles (130km) west-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, and about 270miles (435km) south of the central Bahamas. Melissa is packing maximum sustained winds of 125mph (205km/h), moving northeast at 10 mph (17km/h).
Shweta Sharma29 October 2025 06:25
Jamaica’s hospitals pushed to the brink after Hurricane Melissa
Jamaica’s healthcare system is facing one of its worst crises in recent memory after Hurricane Melissa battered hospitals and clinics across the island, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Floodwaters have inundated multiple facilities, forcing evacuations and threatening to cripple essential medical services.
One man called a radio station seeking urgent help for a woman in labor in western Jamaica as the hurricane neared landfall. The show’s host pleaded with listeners to let him know the safest hospital before an obstetrician called in to provide detailed directions on how to deliver a baby, if necessary.
Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council said four main hospitals were damaged and one of those lost power, forcing evacuations.
Residents self-evacuate under pouring rain from Playa Siboney to safe locations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba (AFP via Getty Images)
Spanish Town Hospital, one of Jamaica’s largest, entered full emergency mode amid fears of flooding, while Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth Parish was among the hardest hit, with around 75 patients evacuated after water breached the building.
Health workers are relocating patients under dangerous conditions, hampered by blocked roads and power cuts. Other major hospitals – including Falmouth Public General, Noel Holmes, and Princess Margaret – have activated emergency plans as flood risks rise.
PAHO’s health emergencies director, Ciro Ugarte, warned that “no amount of preparation is sufficient in the face of a Category 5 hurricane,” calling the situation “tense” and predicting severe damage to health services.
The organisation has sent emergency medical kits and is preparing to deploy field hospitals and mobile labs in Jamaica and other affected areas.
Relief supplies are expected to start arriving once Kingston’s airport reopens later this week – a development Mr Ugarte described as “God’s gift in the middle of this situation.”
People take shelter in a school ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s forecast arrival in Old Harbour, Jamaica (AP)
Shweta Sharma29 October 2025 06:00
