Hurricane Melissa left a trail of death and destruction after tearing through the Caribbean nations of Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba, cutting power, ripping the roofs off thousands of homes and, in some places, sweeping children away.
Issued on: 30/10/2025
By: FRANCE 24
People pass by the rubble of a wall in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Santiago, Cuba, on October 29, 2025. © Alexandre Meneghini, Reuters
People across the northern Caribbean were digging out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa on Thursday as deaths from the catastrophic storm climbed.
The rumble of large machinery, whine of chainsaws and chopping of machetes echoed throughout southeast Jamaica as government workers and residents began clearing roads in a push to reach isolated communities that sustained a direct hit from one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record.
Dozens dead as Caribbean reels from 'unprecedented' hurricane destruction
Stunned residents wandered about, some staring at their roofless homes and waterlogged belongings strewn around them.
“I don’t have a house now,” said a distressed Sylvester Guthrie, a resident of Lacovia in the southern parish of St. Elizabeth, as he held onto his bicycle, the only possession of value left after the storm.
“I have land in another location that I can build back but I am going to need help,” the sanitation worker pleaded.
Emergency relief flights began landing at Jamaica’s main international airport, which reopened late Wednesday, as crews distributed water, food and other basic supplies.
“The devastation is enormous,” Jamaican Transportation Minister Daryl Vaz said.
'Ground Zero'
Some Jamaicans wondered where they would live.
“I am now homeless, but I have to be hopeful because I have life,” said Sheryl Smith, who lost the roof of her home.
Authorities said they have found at least four bodies in southwest Jamaica.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness said up to 90 percent of roofs in the southwest coastal community of Black River were destroyed.
“Black River is what you would describe as Ground Zero,” he said. “The people are still coming to grips with the destruction.”
More than 25,000 people remained crowded into shelters across the western half of Jamaica, with 77 percent of the island without power.
Melissa also unleashed catastrophic flooding in Haiti, where at least 25 people were reported killed and 18 others missing, mostly in the country’s southern region.
Steven Guadard, who lives in Petit-Goave, said Melissa killed his entire family.
“I had four children at home: a 1-month-old baby, a 7-year-old, an 8-year-old and another who was about to turn 4,” he said.
Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said Hurricane Melissa killed at least 20 people in Petit-Goave, including 10 children. It also damaged more than 160 homes and destroyed 80 others.
Officials warned that 152 disabled people in Haiti’s southern region required emergency food assistance. More than 11,600 people remained sheltered in Haiti because of the storm.
Many Cubans still without power, phones
Meanwhile, in Cuba, people began to clear blocked roads and highways with heavy equipment and even enlisted the help of the military, which rescued people trapped in isolated communities and at risk from landslides.
No fatalities were reported after the Civil Defence evacuated more than 735,000 people across eastern Cuba. They slowly were starting to return home.
“We are cleaning the streets, clearing the way,” said Yaima Almenares, a physical education teacher from the city of Santiago, as she and other neighbors swept branches and debris from sidewalks and avenues, cutting down fallen tree trunks and removing accumulated trash.
In the more rural areas outside the city of Santiago de Cuba, water remained accumulated in vulnerable homes on Wednesday night as residents returned from their shelters to save beds, mattresses, chairs, tables and fans they had elevated ahead of the storm.
A televised civil defence meeting chaired by President Miguel Diaz-Canel did not provide an official estimate of the damage. However, officials from the affected provinces – Santiago, Granma, Holguin, Guantanamo, and Las Tunas – reported losses of roofs, power lines, fiber optic telecommunications cables, cut roads, isolated communities and losses of banana, cassava and coffee plantations.
Officials said the rains were beneficial for the reservoirs and for easing a severe drought in eastern Cuba.
Many communities were still without electricity, internet and telephone service due to downed transformers and power lines.
From a 5 to a 2
When Melissa came ashore in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane with top winds of 295 kilometres per hour on Tuesday, it tied strength records for Atlantic hurricanes making landfall, both in wind speed and barometric pressure. It was still a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall again in eastern Cuba early Wednesday.
A hurricane warning remained in effect early Thursday for the southeastern and central Bahamas and for Bermuda.
Hurricane conditions were expected to continue through the morning in the southeastern Bahamas, where dozens of people were evacuated.
Melissa was a Category 2 storm with top sustained winds near 155 kph early Thursday and was moving north-northeast at 33 kph according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The hurricane was centred about 235 kilometres northeast of the central Bahamas and about 1,215 kilometres southwest of Bermuda.
Melissa was forecast to pass near or to the west of Bermuda late Thursday and may strengthen further before weakening Friday.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
People across the northern Caribbean were digging out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa on Thursday as deaths from the catastrophic storm climbed.
The rumble of large machinery, whine of chainsaws and chopping of machetes echoed throughout southeast Jamaica as government workers and residents began clearing roads in a push to reach isolated communities that sustained a direct hit from one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record.
Dozens dead as Caribbean reels from 'unprecedented' hurricane destruction
Stunned residents wandered about, some staring at their roofless homes and waterlogged belongings strewn around them.
“I don’t have a house now,” said a distressed Sylvester Guthrie, a resident of Lacovia in the southern parish of St. Elizabeth, as he held onto his bicycle, the only possession of value left after the storm.
“I have land in another location that I can build back but I am going to need help,” the sanitation worker pleaded.
Emergency relief flights began landing at Jamaica’s main international airport, which reopened late Wednesday, as crews distributed water, food and other basic supplies.
“The devastation is enormous,” Jamaican Transportation Minister Daryl Vaz said.
'Ground Zero'
Some Jamaicans wondered where they would live.
“I am now homeless, but I have to be hopeful because I have life,” said Sheryl Smith, who lost the roof of her home.
Authorities said they have found at least four bodies in southwest Jamaica.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness said up to 90 percent of roofs in the southwest coastal community of Black River were destroyed.
“Black River is what you would describe as Ground Zero,” he said. “The people are still coming to grips with the destruction.”
More than 25,000 people remained crowded into shelters across the western half of Jamaica, with 77 percent of the island without power.
Melissa also unleashed catastrophic flooding in Haiti, where at least 25 people were reported killed and 18 others missing, mostly in the country’s southern region.
Steven Guadard, who lives in Petit-Goave, said Melissa killed his entire family.
“I had four children at home: a 1-month-old baby, a 7-year-old, an 8-year-old and another who was about to turn 4,” he said.
Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said Hurricane Melissa killed at least 20 people in Petit-Goave, including 10 children. It also damaged more than 160 homes and destroyed 80 others.
Officials warned that 152 disabled people in Haiti’s southern region required emergency food assistance. More than 11,600 people remained sheltered in Haiti because of the storm.
Many Cubans still without power, phones
Meanwhile, in Cuba, people began to clear blocked roads and highways with heavy equipment and even enlisted the help of the military, which rescued people trapped in isolated communities and at risk from landslides.
No fatalities were reported after the Civil Defence evacuated more than 735,000 people across eastern Cuba. They slowly were starting to return home.
“We are cleaning the streets, clearing the way,” said Yaima Almenares, a physical education teacher from the city of Santiago, as she and other neighbors swept branches and debris from sidewalks and avenues, cutting down fallen tree trunks and removing accumulated trash.
In the more rural areas outside the city of Santiago de Cuba, water remained accumulated in vulnerable homes on Wednesday night as residents returned from their shelters to save beds, mattresses, chairs, tables and fans they had elevated ahead of the storm.
A televised civil defence meeting chaired by President Miguel Diaz-Canel did not provide an official estimate of the damage. However, officials from the affected provinces – Santiago, Granma, Holguin, Guantanamo, and Las Tunas – reported losses of roofs, power lines, fiber optic telecommunications cables, cut roads, isolated communities and losses of banana, cassava and coffee plantations.
Officials said the rains were beneficial for the reservoirs and for easing a severe drought in eastern Cuba.
Many communities were still without electricity, internet and telephone service due to downed transformers and power lines.
From a 5 to a 2
When Melissa came ashore in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane with top winds of 295 kilometres per hour on Tuesday, it tied strength records for Atlantic hurricanes making landfall, both in wind speed and barometric pressure. It was still a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall again in eastern Cuba early Wednesday.
A hurricane warning remained in effect early Thursday for the southeastern and central Bahamas and for Bermuda.
Hurricane conditions were expected to continue through the morning in the southeastern Bahamas, where dozens of people were evacuated.
Melissa was a Category 2 storm with top sustained winds near 155 kph early Thursday and was moving north-northeast at 33 kph according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The hurricane was centred about 235 kilometres northeast of the central Bahamas and about 1,215 kilometres southwest of Bermuda.
Melissa was forecast to pass near or to the west of Bermuda late Thursday and may strengthen further before weakening Friday.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
Dozens dead as Caribbean reels from 'unprecedented' hurricane destruction
Hurricane Melissa continued to cut across the Caribbean Wednesday, leaving at least 30 people dead or missing in Haiti and laying waste to Cuba's east. Climate scientists warn that rising sea temperatures are making seasonal tropical storms more intense.
Issued on: 29/10/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
Communications down
In the Cuban town of El Cobre, rescue workers attempted Wednesday to reach 17 people, including children and elderly people, trapped by rising floodwaters and a landslide, according to state media.
Hurricane Melissa continued to cut across the Caribbean Wednesday, leaving at least 30 people dead or missing in Haiti and laying waste to Cuba's east. Climate scientists warn that rising sea temperatures are making seasonal tropical storms more intense.
Issued on: 29/10/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
A family salvages belongings from the rubble of their home after it collapsed during Hurricane Melissa’s passage through Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. © Yamil Lage, AFP
Cubans waded through flooded, debris-strewn streets Wednesday as Hurricane Melissa blasted across the Caribbean, leaving 30 dead or missing in Haiti and devastating swaths of Jamaica.
Headed for the Bahamas and Bermuda as a weakened but still threatening storm, Melissa left behind "unprecedented" devastation in Jamaica, according to a UN official, and untold misery to Cuba.
"It has been a very difficult early morning," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on social media, citing "extensive damage" on the communist island battling its worst economic crisis in decades.
Residents in Cuba's east struggled through flooded and collapsed homes and inundated streets, with windows smashed, power cables downed and roofs and tree branches torn off amid intense winds.
Some carried loved ones unable to walk for themselves and arms full of quickly gathered belongings.
Cubans waded through flooded, debris-strewn streets Wednesday as Hurricane Melissa blasted across the Caribbean, leaving 30 dead or missing in Haiti and devastating swaths of Jamaica.
Headed for the Bahamas and Bermuda as a weakened but still threatening storm, Melissa left behind "unprecedented" devastation in Jamaica, according to a UN official, and untold misery to Cuba.
"It has been a very difficult early morning," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on social media, citing "extensive damage" on the communist island battling its worst economic crisis in decades.
Residents in Cuba's east struggled through flooded and collapsed homes and inundated streets, with windows smashed, power cables downed and roofs and tree branches torn off amid intense winds.
Some carried loved ones unable to walk for themselves and arms full of quickly gathered belongings.
A home damaged as Melissa passed through Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. © Yamil Lage, AFP
Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), which urged residents to "remain sheltered" even as the storm left the island headed north.
"In the Bahamas, residents should remain sheltered," the centre warned, and in Bermuda, "preparations should be underway and be completed before anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds".
'Disaster area'
In Jamaica, UN resident coordinator Dennis Zulu told reporters Melissa had brought "tremendous, unprecedented devastation of infrastructure, of property, roads, network connectivity".
Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the tropical island famed for tourism a "disaster area". The Jamaican government confirmed that the storm had killed at least four people in St Elizabeth parish.
"Our teams are on the ground working tirelessly to rescue, restore and bring relief where it's needed most ... To every Jamaican, hold strong. We will rebuild, we will recover," he said on X.
Britain's King Charles III, who is also Jamaica's head of state, said the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa was a "heartbreaking" reminder of the need to restore the "balance" of nature.
Read moreCaribbean braces for impact as Melissa surges into a Category 4 hurricane
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers from the Vatican, while the United States said it was in close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
"We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with critical lifesaving supplies. Our prayers are with the people of the Caribbean," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, without mentioning Cuba, whom the Miami-born politician has long held up as his ideological foe.
At least 23 people in southern Haiti, including 10 children, were killed in floods caused by the hurricane earlier this week, according to civil defense agency head Emmanuel Pierre. Ten more were missing.
Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), which urged residents to "remain sheltered" even as the storm left the island headed north.
"In the Bahamas, residents should remain sheltered," the centre warned, and in Bermuda, "preparations should be underway and be completed before anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds".
'Disaster area'
In Jamaica, UN resident coordinator Dennis Zulu told reporters Melissa had brought "tremendous, unprecedented devastation of infrastructure, of property, roads, network connectivity".
Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the tropical island famed for tourism a "disaster area". The Jamaican government confirmed that the storm had killed at least four people in St Elizabeth parish.
"Our teams are on the ground working tirelessly to rescue, restore and bring relief where it's needed most ... To every Jamaican, hold strong. We will rebuild, we will recover," he said on X.
Britain's King Charles III, who is also Jamaica's head of state, said the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa was a "heartbreaking" reminder of the need to restore the "balance" of nature.
Read moreCaribbean braces for impact as Melissa surges into a Category 4 hurricane
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers from the Vatican, while the United States said it was in close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
"We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with critical lifesaving supplies. Our prayers are with the people of the Caribbean," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, without mentioning Cuba, whom the Miami-born politician has long held up as his ideological foe.
At least 23 people in southern Haiti, including 10 children, were killed in floods caused by the hurricane earlier this week, according to civil defense agency head Emmanuel Pierre. Ten more were missing.
A flooded street in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on October 28, 2025. © Danny Polanco, AFP
Hurricane Melissa tied the 1935 record for the most intense storm ever to make landfall when it battered Jamaica on Tuesday, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist in Kingston, said her home was devastated.
"My sister ... explained that parts of our roof was blown off and other parts caved in and the entire house was flooded," she told AFP.
Hurricane Melissa tied the 1935 record for the most intense storm ever to make landfall when it battered Jamaica on Tuesday, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist in Kingston, said her home was devastated.
"My sister ... explained that parts of our roof was blown off and other parts caved in and the entire house was flooded," she told AFP.
Communications down
In the Cuban town of El Cobre, rescue workers attempted Wednesday to reach 17 people, including children and elderly people, trapped by rising floodwaters and a landslide, according to state media.
Residents are evacuated from Playa Siboney to safe locations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa. © Yamil Lage, AFP
"We are safe and trying to stay calm," rheumatologist Lionnis Francos, one of those stranded, told the official news site Cubadebate.
"The rescuers arrived quickly. They called us, but couldn't cross because the road is blocked."
The full scale of Melissa's damage is not yet clear. A comprehensive assessment could take days, with communications networks badly disrupted across the region.
Jamaican government minister Desmond McKenzie said several hospitals were damaged, including in Saint Elizabeth, a coastal district he said was "underwater".
Many homes were destroyed and about 25,000 people sought refuge in shelters. The storm left more than three-quarters of the island without power.
Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP from Kingston that those in the capital were "lucky" but feared for fellow Jamaicans in the island's more rural western areas.
Due to climate change, warmer sea surface temperatures inject more energy into storms, boosting their intensity with stronger winds and more precipitation.
"Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse," said climate scientist Daniel Gilford.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
"We are safe and trying to stay calm," rheumatologist Lionnis Francos, one of those stranded, told the official news site Cubadebate.
"The rescuers arrived quickly. They called us, but couldn't cross because the road is blocked."
The full scale of Melissa's damage is not yet clear. A comprehensive assessment could take days, with communications networks badly disrupted across the region.
Jamaican government minister Desmond McKenzie said several hospitals were damaged, including in Saint Elizabeth, a coastal district he said was "underwater".
Many homes were destroyed and about 25,000 people sought refuge in shelters. The storm left more than three-quarters of the island without power.
Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP from Kingston that those in the capital were "lucky" but feared for fellow Jamaicans in the island's more rural western areas.
Due to climate change, warmer sea surface temperatures inject more energy into storms, boosting their intensity with stronger winds and more precipitation.
"Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse," said climate scientist Daniel Gilford.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
AI-generated videos of Hurricane Melissa flood social media
Issued on: 29/10/2025 -
04:43 min
From the show
From shark videos to news reports, AI is taking fake disaster content to a new level. If you have opened TikTok or X in the past 48 hours you may well have seen AI-generated photos and videos of Hurricane Melissa, as the storm blasted across the Caribbean. The flood of disinformation prompted Jamaican authorities to issue warnings. Emerald Maxwell takes a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Issued on: 29/10/2025 -
04:43 min
From the show
From shark videos to news reports, AI is taking fake disaster content to a new level. If you have opened TikTok or X in the past 48 hours you may well have seen AI-generated photos and videos of Hurricane Melissa, as the storm blasted across the Caribbean. The flood of disinformation prompted Jamaican authorities to issue warnings. Emerald Maxwell takes a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.
