Hurricane Melissa, a monstrous Category 5 storm, has left a trail of devastation across the Caribbean, first crippling Jamaica and then making a ferocious landfall in Cuba. The storm, described as the most powerful to hit Jamaica in nearly two centuries, has plunged the island into chaos and prompted one of Cuba’s largest evacuations in history.
Table of Contents
- Jamaica in the Eye of the Storm
- Cuba Braces for Impact
- The Path of Hurricane Melissa
- Recovery and Relief Efforts
- Sources
Hurricane Melissa’s Wrath on Jamaica
Hurricane Melissa made a catastrophic landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, on Tuesday, October 28th, as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 185 mph . This marks the strongest direct hit on the island in 174 years, earning it the grim moniker of a potential ‘storm of the century’ .
The immediate aftermath has been dire. Widespread flooding has inundated the southwest, while the entire island has been plunged into near-total darkness due to a complete collapse of the power grid . The most critical blow to communication and emergency response has been a near-total internet and telecoms outage. Major providers like Flow and Digicel have activated emergency centers, but restoration efforts are hampered by the sheer scale of the damage [[14], [16]].
Cuba’s Massive Evacuation Effort
Having witnessed the storm’s fury in Jamaica, Cuban authorities acted with unprecedented speed. President Miguel Díaz-Canel ordered the evacuation of approximately 735,000 people from the eastern provinces, a move aimed at preventing a massive loss of life [[5], [7]].
Early Wednesday, October 29th, Hurricane Melissa, slightly weakened to a Category 3 storm, made landfall near the city of Chivirico in eastern Cuba . The Cuban president had already warned that the storm would cause ‘significant damage’ to the nation’s infrastructure, which is still recovering from previous economic and health crises [[5], [9]].
The Path of Hurricane Melissa
Before its devastating strikes on Jamaica and Cuba, Hurricane Melissa first passed over Haiti, where it is reported to have claimed 26 lives [[4], [10]]. The storm formed in the Caribbean Sea as the thirteenth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season and rapidly intensified into a major hurricane [[1], [6]].
| Location | Landfall Date | Category at Landfall | Key Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haiti | October 27, 2025 | Category 2/3 | 26 fatalities reported |
| Jamaica | October 28, 2025 | Category 5 | Nationwide power & internet outage, catastrophic flooding |
| Cuba | October 29, 2025 | Category 3 | 735,000 evacuated, significant infrastructure damage expected |
Recovery and Relief Efforts
International aid organizations are mobilizing to support the affected nations. In Jamaica, the focus is on restoring critical communication lines, with companies like Starlink attempting to provide emergency direct-to-cell coverage to bypass the damaged terrestrial networks . In Cuba, the priority remains on ensuring the safety of the hundreds of thousands in evacuation shelters and preparing for the long road to rebuilding.
