Hurricane Melissa Leaves a Trail of Death and Ruin Across the Caribbean

Hurricane Melissa has torn through the northern Caribbean, leaving behind a path of devastation that residents say will take years to recover from.

The Category 5 hurricane, the strongest ever recorded to strike Jamaica directly, has killed at least 25 people in Haiti, eight in Jamaica, and one in the Dominican Republic, according to local officials.

The storm ripped through the region on Tuesday and Wednesday, flattening homes, flooding hospitals, and cutting off power and water supplies across multiple islands.

By early Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Melissa had weakened to a Category 1 storm but was still carrying dangerous winds of up to 155km/h (100mph) as it moved past the Bahamas toward Bermuda.

In Haiti, where more than 12,000 people remained in emergency shelters, the human toll has been staggering. At least 20 of the reported deaths occurred in the coastal town of Petit-Goave, where a river overflowed, destroying homes.

Cuba, though spared from fatalities, saw mass evacuations of more than 735,000 residents. The military has been mobilized to assist stranded communities as people begin returning to their homes.

In Jamaica, recovery efforts have begun in the hardest-hit western parishes. Prime Minister Andrew Holness called the destruction “unprecedented” and promised a “credible and strong” recovery plan, but for many residents, immediate survival remains the priority.

Melissa’s center narrowly missed Kingston, allowing aid flights to resume at Norman Manley International Airport. Still, the country’s main utility company, Jamaica Public Service, warned that the majority of its 2.8 million residents remained without electricity.

In the port town of Black River, Holness described the scene as “ground zero,” where the hurricane “destroyed the entire infrastructure.”

Across Jamaica’s northern regions, bulldozers have begun clearing debris while residents pick through the wreckage of their homes.

The United States and the United Kingdom have pledged immediate assistance as the region braces for weeks of recovery.