Today so far
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica’s on Tuesday as a category 5 hurricane. It is the strongest to lash the island since record-keeping began in 1851. The storm lost some power crossing Jamaica’s mountainous terrain. But remains a highly dangerous category 4 cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane is now making a toward Cuba. It could make a second landfall there as early as midnight, bringing winds of between 140 and 145 mph.
Cuba’s president warned citizens the storm could be “one of the most severe - or possibly the strongest” ever to hit the island. “We want to emphasise ... the magnitude of this event,” said Miguel Díaz-Canel, urging Cubans not to return to their homes from shelters. Windspeeds dropped to 145mph as the storm moved across Jamaica, making it a category 4 storm, but it was still expected to cause widespread infrastructure damage and flooding.
Aid agencies and disaster relief charities are preparing to deploy. They will start operations across Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean at speed as soon as weather conditions improve enough to safely do so. The Red Cross has said it expects about 1.5 million people to be directly affected by the disaster, set to become the largest in Jamaica’s history.
A hospital in St Elizabeth, a parish in Jamaica bearing the brunt of Hurricane Melissa’s effects, has suffered extensive damage. Earlier this week health minister Christopher Tufton identified the hospital as one of three coastal institutions that was particularly at risk. He said the hospital’s 75 patients were evacuated to a higher floor before parts of the roof collapsed.
The extraordinary intensification of Hurricane Melissa is likely to be a symptom of the rapid heating of the world’s oceans. Melissa is the fourth storm in the Atlantic this year to undergo rapid intensification of its wind speed and power. This sort of intensification has been linked to the human-caused climate crisis, which is causing oceans to become hotter.
Follow along for continued coverage.
Updated
Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, said the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth “is under water” – and has sustained extensive damage.
He also said that severe damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in southern Jamaica. However, McKenzie said there were no “official” reports at this point of deaths.
More 800 shelters are open, with 382 shelters currently housing nearly 6,000 people across the island.
Updated
Here’s a a visual guide to Jamaica’s strongest storm since 1851:
What is the impact of the climate crisis?
The extraordinary intensification of Hurricane Melissa is likely to be a symptom of the rapid heating of the world’s oceans.
Melissa is the fourth storm in the Atlantic this year to undergo rapid intensification of its wind speed and power. This sort of intensification has been linked to the human-caused climate crisis, which is causing oceans to become hotter.
Warming oceans probably fueling Hurricane Melissa’s rapid intensification
Researchers at Climate Central, a nonprofit organisation that analyses climate science, found that during Melissa’s rapid intensification the storm drifted over exceptionally warm ocean waters that were 1.4C hotter than average. These conditions were made up to 700 times more likely because of the climate crisis, the organisation said.
The environmental justice and advocacy group GreenLatinos is speaking out about Hurricane Melissa, particularly about how the climate emergency is, according to experts, fueling stronger and more frequent severe weather events.
Val Schull, the group’s water equity and ocean program director, said in a statement:
Hurricane Melissa is yet another example of how Latin American and Caribbean communities continue to be on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Many in our communities have relatives, friends, or cultural connections to these impacted areas. We need to ensure that these areas receive support before, during, and after climate-induced storms.
The group says it is calling on elected officials worldwide to “craft community-led policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience to extreme weather, and center leadership of frontline communities”.
Meisei Gonzalez, climate justice and clean air advocate for GreenLatinos, said:
These storms are not just natural disasters. They are the result of systemic failures from our governments and the prioritization of industry over people. These catastrophic storms are forcing families from their homes and pushing entire communities closer to unlivable conditions. For Black, Latino, and indigenous peoples across the Caribbean and Americas, every hurricane season now brings the threat of displacement, loss, and uncertainty.
Tamisha Lee, president of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, has been sharing with the Guardian some of her experiences of Hurricane Melissa today. Her group is a partner of the humanitarian organization CARE International:
Right now, what I’m seeing is heavy rain, powerful wind, a lot of things flying all over the place, and trees uprooted. I am also seeing darkness. There is currently no electricity. I am feeling anxious and tense, but I am focused. The fear is real, but our preparation is helping us manage that fear. We have been through this before. The resilience of the membership of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers is truly what anchors me at a time like this.
Recovering from this will not be a sprint, but a marathon. Once the storm has passed, we will have to hit the road running. We anticipate a lot of infrastructure damage on our roads. So, roads will be impassable. It will be a challenge for us to get to our members. And communication will also be a challenge because we’re currently out of electricity. Where I am currently, in Mandeville, we are in darkness.
I am also staying in touch with our membership through our various WhatsApp groups. We’re getting feedback as to what is going on in everyone’s neck of the wood. The most urgent need will be cash because it takes cash to care. And, based on the forecast and what we have been experiencing since Sunday evening, I am anticipating the damage will be enormous. But I am feeling hopeful through our partnership with CARE.
Cuba bracing for Melissa's next landfall
While most of the attention on Tuesday has been focused on Jamaica, where Hurricane Melissa swept ashore at lunchtime, millions of people in Cuba were also apprehensively awaiting the arrival of the monster storm.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the island can expect Melissa to make its second landfall either later Tuesday or early Wednesday as a major category 4 storm, packing winds of between 140 and 145 mph, and pushing ahead of it a predicted storm surge approaching 10ft (3 meters).
The Cuban government has issued mandatory evacuation orders for vulnerable areas, and hundreds of thousands of Cubans spent Tuesday boarding up and heading for shelters as the storm closed in.
“Heavy rainfall, flash flooding and landslides are expected soon. Life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds are likely to begin later today. Seek safe shelter,” Jack Beven, a senior expert at the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), warned in a Tuesday after noon advisory.
According to the Navy Times, the US government evacuated 900 non-essential naval personnel from its military base at Guantanamo Bay, on Cuba’s south eastern tip, this week.
After crossing Cuba, Melissa will head for the islands of the south eastern Bahamas, where the NHC says damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall are expected through Wednesday.
Although avoiding a direct hit, Haiti and the Dominican Republic will also be badly affected, Beven said: “Catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are expected across southwestern Haiti and southern portions of the Dominican Republic during the next day or so. In Haiti, extensive damage and isolation of communities is likely.”
Melissa windspeed drops to 145mph, now a category 4 storm
Hurricane Melissa’s sustained windspeed has dropped to 145mph (233kph) as its eyewall begins to emerge off the coast of northern Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in its just-published 5pm ET advisory.
The storm, which made landfall earlier Tuesday in the south west of the country with maximum sustained winds of 185mph, lost some power crossing Jamaica’s mountainous terrain, but remains a highly dangerous category 4 cyclone, the NHC said.
“Damaging winds will continue over portions of Jamaica this evening. Catastrophic flash flooding, and landslides, are expected across the island tonight with widespread infrastructure damage, power and communication outages, and isolated communities,” Jack Beven, the NHC’s senior hurricane specialist, wrote in the advisory.
Beven said he expected the storm, which has caused heavy flooding, torn apart buildings and blocked countless roads in Jamaica with fallen trees, downed powerlines and other hazards, to continue its weakening trend.
The small amount of water between Jamaica and Cuba, where Melissa will make its second landfall later Tuesday or early Wednesday, will prevent re-intensification, he said. But the storm will still bring “life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds” to the eastern half of Cuba.
Updated
Alarming video clips are beginning to appear on social media from residents in Jamaica purporting to show flooding and destruction following the arrival of Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday.
The X account of the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper posted footage of what it said was a roof completely torn from the Savanna La Mar hospital in Westmoreland parish, close to where Melissa’s eyewall made landfall.
Posts by residents of Jamaica were equally dramatic. One reported “intense footage from inside the Black River hospital” It shows downed power lines and heavy rain and items being blown around outside the facility, while medical staff in white coats deal with debris inside.
Another shows flooding coursing down a road said to be in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth parish, in Jamaica’s mountainous interior.
The Guardian was not able to immediately confirm the authenticity of the videos.
Here’s a taste of what we’re likely to see from the US National Hurricane Center when it releases its latest full advisory and briefing package on Hurricane Melissa in about half an hour from now, at 5pm ET (4pm Jamaica).
An interim advisory issued by the Miami-based center just now couldn’t have been more stark: “Catastrophic winds, flash flooding, and storm surge ongoing in Jamaica,” it said.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threating situation.”
If there is any consolation, it looks like the storm, the center of which is currently about 10 miles south of Montego Bay, has weakened further to a category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds dropping to 150mph.
Full details to come shortly.
Updated
Post-hurricane disaster relief operations to commence soon
Aid agencies and disaster relief charities are preparing to deploy across Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean at speed as soon as weather conditions improve enough for them to start operations.
The American Red Cross said it was working with the International Federation of Red Cross partners across its networks to coordinate response and recovery efforts, which will include sheltering and feed unknown numbers of people.
The Red Cross has said it expects about 1.5 million people to be directly affected by the disaster, set to become the largest in Jamaica’s history.
World Food Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef and philanthropist Jose Andres, will also be operating in Jamaica, as it did following Hurricane Beryl last year to provide hot meals.
“WCK has already mobilized, pre-deploying teams to assist in recovery efforts,” said Samantha, a team member already in Jamaica, in a statement. “We’re coordinating with local restaurant partners to ensure they can serve meals once the hurricane passes.”
Other well known agencies, including the Salvation Army and Catholic Relief Services, will also be operating in the region and raising funds, along with a significant number of smaller, more localized charities.
As a reminder, here’s the Guardian’s own visual guide to Hurricane Melissa, and the devastation it will bring to Caribbean nations including Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas:
Updated
Hurricane Melissa tore into Jamaica on Tuesday with a sustained windspeed of 185 mph (295 kph), tying the record for the strongest winds at landfall of any Atlantic basin storm.
Courtesy of the Associated Press, here’s quick look at some of the other record setting cyclones:
Hurricane Allen (1980)
The most powerful Atlantic storm in terms of wind speed, it killed more than 200 people in Haiti before swooping into Texas. Its highest sustained winds reached 190 mph (305 kph) but slowed before it hit land.
Hurricane Dorian (2019)
The most intense hurricane to hit the Bahamas on record, more than 70 people died in the storm that packed 185 mph (295 kph) winds.
Hurricane Wilma (2005)
Wilma intensified rapidly with winds of 185 mph as it slammed into Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, then carved a wide path of destruction through south Florida.
Hurricane Gilbert (1988)
Similar to Melissa, its first landfall was in Jamaica, before it ripped west through the Caribbean with peak winds of 185 mph and into Mexico, where at least 200 people died.
Labor Day hurricane (1935)
One of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the US. It devastated the Florida Keys and left damage along the Atlantic coast with winds measured at 185 mph.
Hurricane Milton (2024)
Weeks after Hurricane Helene did almost the same, Milton tore up the Gulf Coast of Florida and across the state. Warm water fueled rapid intensification and winds briefly reached 180 mph.
Hurricane Irma (2017)
With winds of 180 mph, Irma caused more than an estimated $700m in damage across Puerto Rico and knocked out power to more than a million.
Hurricane Rita (2005)
Weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Rita reached 180 mph and ripped through southwestern Louisiana, causing more than $11bn in damage.
Hurricane Mitch (1998)
Mudslides and floods left more than 11,000 dead, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua. The hurricane hit the coast of Central America with winds at 180 mph.
Updated
The Alliance of Small Island States is calling for urgent action to address inaction over greenhouse gases [ghg] leading to warmer oceans, which experts say leads to more frequent and more severe storms such as Hurricane Melissa.
The group, representing the interests of 39 small island and low-lying coastal developing states in international climate change, said it was watching developments in the Caribbean with “deep concern”. Its chair, Ilana Seid, permanent representative of Palau to the United Nations, said in a statement:
All of our small island developing states know all too well the fear and dread those in the hurricane’s path are feeling. This trauma should not be anyone’s norm. Global temperatures are rising to unprecedented levels, causing warmer seas and more severe storms - and it is the people who have contributed the least to the ghg emissions which exacerbate climate change, who pay the devastating price.
This is why when countries converge at COP30 in just a few weeks it is crucial that we finally and effectively address this vicious cycle. We need urgent action that gets us back on track with a 1.5°C warming limit increase, so we can avoid even worse impacts to come.
As the Guardian’s Oliver Milman reported this week, scientists say the extraordinary intensification of Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica, is probably a symptom of the rapid heating of the world’s oceans.
Read the full story here:
Updated
A hospital in St Elizabeth, a parish in Jamaica bearing the brunt of Hurricane Melissa’s effects, has suffered extensive damage, officials told the Guardian. Earlier this week health minister Christopher Tufton identified the hospital as one of three coastal institutions that was particularly at risk.
Tufton confirmed the damage on Tuesday afternoon, adding that the hospital’s 75 patients were evacuated to a higher floor before parts of the roof collapsed.
Tufton said the hospital was running
at about 50% capacity. “The administrative wing was extensively damaged by the wind. No one was there, so no one got hurt, because that area was evacuated,” he said.
“We have had some issues with the onsite generator, which was damaged by falling debris, so we are trying to resolve that issue.”
Anthony Lugg contributed reporting in Jamaica
Updated
Flooding, destroyed buildings and blocked roads after Melissa's landfall in Jamaica
The Associated Press reports heavy flooding in south west Jamaica, as well as numerous buildings with severe structural damage, including roofs torn off, and many roadways blocked by fallen trees and rocks.
Seven deaths in the Caribbean have so far been attributed to Melissa, all reported before landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday lunchtime. Three were killed in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remained missing, the AP said.
The agency said a man called a local radio station in western Jamaica seeking help for a pregnant woman who went into labor with the storm’s landfall imminent. An obstetrician called in to provide detailed directions on how to deliver a baby if the woman didn’t make it to hospital.
Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps adviser based near Kingston, told the AP that most families were sheltering in place despite government ordered evacuations in flood-prone communities. Bogle said he was sheltering with his grandmother in Portmore, where everything went dark earlier in the morning after a loud explosion.
More than 240,000 customers in Jamaica were without power before landfall, and about a quarter of the country’s telecommunications system was offline, Darryl Vaz, the transport and energy minister, said.
He said he hoped Jamaica’s two international airports, in Kingston and Montego Bay, could be open as early as Thursday to receive emergency relief flights.
The Jamaican government has set up a website, Support Jamaica, to keep residents informed as Hurricane Melissa passes over and, crucially, collect donations for what will be a long and challenging recovery period.
The country’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (Odpem) says rescue and recovery operations will commence as soon as conditions allow crews to venture out safely.
The website’s donation portal seeks to raise funds for food, shelter and medical aid that will be needed by residents displaced or affected by what is almost certain to be the worst natural disaster to strike the Caribbean island.
Here is another selection of images from the Caribbean as Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica, sent to us over the news wires:
Melissa slightly weaker after landfall, still category 5
The National Hurricane Center in Miami has just posted its 2pm ET advisory (1pm in Jamaica), noting that Hurricane Melissa’s maximum sustained winds have dropped by 20mph to 165mph following landfall within the last hour.
Despite this modest weakening, the storm is, however, still a monster category 5 cyclone as it crosses the western half of the island and sets its sights on a second landfall, in eastern Cuba, later tonight.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the Melissa’s center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 195 miles (315 km).
Per the advisory:
At 2pm ET, Melissa is moving toward the north-northeast near 8 mph (13 kmh). A turn toward the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected later today, followed by a faster northeastward motion on Wednesday and Thursday.
On the forecast track, the core of Melissa will cross western Jamaica during the next few hours and then move back into the Caribbean Sea. After that, the center is expected to move across southeastern Cuba early Wednesday morning, and move across the southeastern or central Bahamas later on Wednesday.
The day so far
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category 5 hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. It was one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin, the NHC added.
The US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said the hurricane has hit southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185mph. The centre has warned that it is an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation” and told those in the area not to leave their shelter as the eye of the storm passes over.
Jamaica’s minister of local government, Desmond McKenzie, provided an update on the island’s disaster response, reporting that nearly 6,000 people are now in shelters. He urged residents of St Elizabeth and Westmoreland – where Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall – to seek emergency shelter immediately, emphasising that this will be the final official briefing.
Jamaica’s energy and transport minister Daryl Vaz said the electricity grid has already been impacted by the storm and that there have been several outages across Jamaica. Vaz added that 240,000 customers are without power after critical high voltage substations, transmissions and distribution lines across the island were forced out of service.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday that it is dispatching solar lamps, blankets, indoor tents, generators and other items from its logistics hub in Barbados to Jamaica as soon as the storm crosses the island. “Many people are likely to be displaced from their homes and in urgent need of shelter and relief,” Natasha Greaves, interim head for IOM Jamaica, said.
The storm has already been blamed for three deaths in Jamaica, and four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, has ordered a mandatory evacuation of low lying areas amid warnings of catastrophic flooding, landslides and extensive infrastructure damage.
After Jamaica, Melissa is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba later today.
In Cuba, authorities said they had evacuated upwards of 500,000 people from areas vulnerable to winds and flooding.
Hurricane Melissa could affect 1.5 million people in Jamaica alone, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
An official from the World Meteorological Organization said the hurricane will be the “storm of the century” for Jamaica and is expected to cause a “catastrophic situation”.
The US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said the hurricane has hit southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185mph.
The centre has warned that it is an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation” and told those in the area not to leave their shelter as the eye of the storm passes over.
In a post on X, the centre said Melissa was “one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin”.
Category 5 hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica, NHC says
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category 5 hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.
It was one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin, the NHC added
Hurricane Melissa is close to hitting Jamaica as a catastrophic category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since record-keeping began in 1851.
The slow-moving giant will make landfall on Tuesday afternoon local time and linger over the island, moving diagonally through it until heading on to slam into Cuba, with impacts also expected in Haiti and the Bahamas.
Here is a visual guide to the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in almost two centuries:
Jamaica’s minister of local government, Desmond McKenzie, has provided an update on the island’s disaster response, reporting that nearly 6,000 people are now in shelters.
He urged residents of St Elizabeth and Westmoreland – where Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall – to seek emergency shelter immediately, emphasising that this will be the final official briefing.
McKenzie warned citizens that “this is not the time to be brave,” adding a reminder: “don’t bet against Melissa – it’s a bet we can’t win.”
On Tuesday morning, Natricia Duncan spoke with Emma Simms in Mandeville – the capital of the south central parish of Manchester.
The 37-year-old, mom-of-two, is a data analyst and transport consultant that moved to Jamaica from the UK, six years ago.
One of the areas that is bearing the brunt of Hurricane Melissa, sections of Mandeville have been without power since Sunday.
“My one-year-old… doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. And then I have a four-year-old who is a bit nervous. She’s definitely clinging to me, but, like, it’s quite exciting for them, I think, sadly,” Simms said.
She added that she had done a lot of research about the best way to prepare for and survive a hurricane and had done everything possibly to prepare for Melissa.
Simms, who experienced her first Jamaican hurricane when Beryl devastated the country last summer, has been coping with days of torrential rain and increasingly violent winds.
“I feel like this is already worse than Beryl already and it hasn’t even landed yet,” she said.
“I think this house is pretty well built. So, so far it’s holding up, and not giving me any trouble. I lived in a different house last year for Beryl, which was already leaking like crazy and with stuff coming through the windows, et cetera. So I think by this point, that house would look very different from this one.”
Simms said friends are praying for her as she and her family brace themselves for Melissa’s arrival. Being a mom, she added, puts her in protective mode.
“I feel like I’ve got people to protect, like I need to keep it together. But my belly has been feeling different than it has for the last few days. I can definitely feel the anxiety in me, but I feel like I’m not allowing myself to really think too much about it. And also just like we are very much in a situation where there is absolutely nothing we can do at this point,” she said.
After doing some research, Simms created a refuge area in a cupboard.
“I’ve tried to make it nice and comfortable. There’s snacks in there, there’s water in there. I’ve put one of the lightbulbs in there. So, that’s kind of my plan. If things sound like the house isn’t going to hold up, then I’m just going to go in there. We’re going to stick a mattress on top of us and just keep (my kids) happy until it passes. Try and make it fun and exciting.
Simm said the increasing frequency of dangerous hurricanes on the island have caused her to question whether staying in Jamaica long-term is wise.
“But there are so many amazing things about living here. My quality of life is just so different,” she said, adding that she knows some things may change after Melissa.
Vaz added that plans are already being put in place to rebuild areas damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
Before concluding the press conference, he reiterated a warning for people living in low-lying areas to seek higher ground.
“You have but a few hours,” he said. “Seek to go to higher ground. Protect yourself and be smart.”
Jamaica’s energy and transport minister Daryl Vaz has said that Hurricane Melissa is “very close” to the island and people may still have time to reinforce their homes in preparation.
He said the electricity grid has already been impacted by the storm and that there have been several outages across Jamaica.
Vaz added that 240,000 customers are without power after critical high voltage substations, transmissions and distribution lines across the island were forced out of service.
Damian Carrington is an environment editor at the Guardian
The climate crisis is making Caribbean hurricanes worse and recent history shows it takes years for people to recover, says Dr Emily Vosper, a climate extremes expert at the University of Bristol, UK.
“In the Caribbean, severe rainfall hurricanes, such as Hurricane Maria which hit Puerto Rico in 2017, are twice as likely to occur in a 2C warmer world compared to a 1.5C world. This is driven by the increased water holding capacity of the atmosphere by a rate of 7% per 1oC of warming. This relation is known as the Clausius-Clapeyron effect and is observed in extreme rainfall. Hurricanes such as Melissa will therefore carry more rainfall than pre-industrial times as a result of climate change.
“Not only does the distribution of population play a part in the region’s vulnerability, but the post-hurricane recovery time can be slow and roughly coincides with the average hurricane return time of approximately 5-10 years.
“The recovery period can be even longer in the case of agriculture. The island of Grenada, for example, was once the world’s second largest exporter of nutmeg after Indonesia. Before hurricane Ivan struck in 2004, over 27% of the island’s population relied on nutmeg as an income source but in Ivan’s aftermath national production declined by more than 60%.
“Unlike bananas, which can fully mature in less than 12 months with prompt replanting, nutmeg takes several years to recover from severe wind damage and even in 2009 the total production of nutmeg was still only 12% of pre-Ivan levels.
“In terms of property, Grenada took over five years to recover as the vast majority of housing, public schools and health infrastructure was severely damaged.”
The UN’s International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday that it is dispatching solar lamps, blankets, indoor tents, generators and other items from its logistics hub in Barbados to Jamaica as soon as the storm crosses the island.
“Many people are likely to be displaced from their homes and in urgent need of shelter and relief,” Natasha Greaves, interim head for IOM Jamaica, said.
Hurricane forecast to make landfall in Jamaica in next few hours
Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica over the next few hours, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The NHC said that the slow-moving category five hurricane is 55 miles (90 km) away from the island, the BBC is reporting.
“An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft has found that Melissa is strengthening with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (290 kph),” the National Hurricane Center wrote in a post on X shared about an hour ago.
“Residents in Jamaica should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the eyewall of Melissa. Remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions,” it added.
Here are some more photos from Kingston, Jamaica, earlier today as the country braces for the arrival of Hurricane Melissa:
From Natricia Duncan and Anthony Lugg
As Hurricane Melissa prepares to descend on Jamaica people right across the country have been feeling its increasingly destructive effects.
Violent winds and heavy rains have knocked out power for some residents in Portland, St Thomas, St Andrew and Manchester, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, including in popular tourist destinations such as Negril and Treasure Beach.
In St Elizabeth heavy rainfall and winds continue and there have been more reports of downed trees across the parish. The Treasure Beach and Black River areas remain a particular concern as Melissa is expected to make landfall along the coast.
Over in Clarendon there are reports of flooding in central and southern sections of the parish. Videos on social media show heavy flooding in an area known as Aenon Town. Sections of Toll gate and surrounding communities are also reported to be flooded.
There are several low lying and flood prone areas in Savanna la Mar and surrounding areas in Westmoreland. Residents say they are concerned their homes will not withstand the expected wind speeds.
And along the Norman Manley Boulevard, in Negril, which is home to several resorts, there are already flooded roadways and downed trees. Flat Bridge which connects communities in St Catherine is also flooded and impassable.
The National Hurricane Center has confirmed that Hurricane Melissa is now about 260 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.
The center also said in its latest update that it has maximum sustained winds of 180mph.
Summary of the day so far...
It is 07.50am in Kingston, Jamaica. Here is a recap of the latest developments:
Hurricane Melissa is closing in on Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, the strongest for the island since records began in 1851 and the world’s most powerful so far this year, with maximum sustained winds near 175 mph (280 km/h)
The storm has already been blamed for three deaths in Jamaica, and four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, has ordered a mandatory evacuation of low lying areas amid warnings of catastrophic flooding, landslides and extensive infrastructure damage.
The hurricane is nearing Jamaica but has not made landfall – when the eye of the storm reaches the coast – yet. This is expected to happen shortly but there remains uncertainty around exactly when due to the changing nature of the storm’s speed.
After Jamaica, Melissa is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba later today.
In Cuba, authorities said they had evacuated upwards of 500,000 people from areas vulnerable to winds and flooding.
Hurricane Melissa could affect 1.5 million people in Jamaica alone, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
An official from the World Meteorological Organization said the hurricane will be the “storm of the century” for Jamaica and is expected to cause a “catastrophic situation”.
Tens of thousands of customers in Jamaica have already experienced power outages over the past day as the slow-moving hurricane approaches the island, according to the Jamaica Public Service.
Updated
Damian Carrington is an environment editor at the Guardian
Advances in climate research in recent years mean scientists can now calculate the influence of human-caused climate crisis on extreme weather events, using a method called attribution. It compares today’s heated world with a world without the higher temperatures.
The researchers at Climate Central have now run the numbers on the key factor driving the strength of Hurricane Melissa – the ocean heat that powers the cyclone.
They found that during Melissa’s rapid intensification the storm drifted slowly over exceptionally warm ocean waters that were 1.4C (2.5F) hotter than average and that these conditions were made up to 700 times more likely because of the climate crisis.
These abnormally warm waters, combined with overall climate warming in the Tropics, are projected to have strengthened Melissa’s top wind speed by about 10 mph, and increased its potential damages by up to 50%.
Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology at the University of Reading, said:
Climate change is having an impact on the strength of this storm. We know these stronger storms will become more dominant and bring intense rainfall. Rising sea levels mean more coastal communities will be at risk from storm surges and must prepare for floods and landslides.
“Melissa has been a strange hurricane, hanging around in the Atlantic and getting stronger in bursts,” she added. “These rapid intensifications will also become more common with climate change. This is not a hypothetical scenario to be imagined. This is a real and deadly storm.”
“This is one of those worst-case scenarios that you prepare for but desperately hope never happens,” Cloke said. “The whole country will have a deep and permanent scar from this beast of a storm. It will be a long and exhausting recovery for those affected.”
Hurricane Melissa will be 'storm of the century' for Jamaica, official warns
Hurricane Melissa will be the “storm of the century” for Jamaica and is expected to cause a “catastrophic situation”, Anne-Claire Fontan, the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) tropical cyclone specialist, has been quoted by the Reuters news agency as having told a Geneva press briefing.
The Category 5 storm is now expected to bring wind gusts of over 300 km per hour (186 miles per hour) and widespread devastation Jamaica, where authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations. Heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding, rivers bursting their banks and mudslides.
As we have previously mentioned, the storm has already been blamed for three deaths in Jamaica, and four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Dr Leanne Archer, research associate in climate extremes at the University of Bristol, describes why Hurricane Melissa is going to be such a powerful storm and outlines how the conditions have been “supercharged” by the human-induced climate crisis.
Archer said:
There has been a perfect storm of conditions leading to the colossal strength of Hurricane Melissa: a warm ocean which has fuelled its rapid intensification over the last few days, but it is also moving slowly, meaning more rain can fall whilst it moves across land.
Most of these conditions have been supercharged by the extra heat in our oceans and atmosphere due to climate change. A warmer ocean means more energy; more strength; and more moisture in the warmer atmosphere means more rain can fall with a higher intensity.
Jamaica experienced a devastating hurricane in 1903, but analysis of this event undertaken by climate scientists have shown that this same hurricane would have been more intense if it occurred now due to climate change.
This suggests Hurricane Melissa could be the most devastating hurricane to ever hit Jamaica, which will have been amplified by our heating planet.
Climate scientists are clear that a heating planet is likely to fuel hurricanes that lead to larger storm surges (due to higher sea levels); more intense rainfall; higher intensities and a larger number of events that become the most catastrophic (Category 4-5 events). Hurricane Melissa has all these aspects.
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Hurricane Melissa could impact 1.5m people in Jamaica, Red Cross says
Hurricane Melissa could affect 1.5 million people in Jamaica alone, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said, warning of a “massive impact”.
“1.5 million people may be impacted,” Necephor Mghendi, the IFRC’s head of delegation for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, was quoted by the AFP news agency as having told reporters. Mghendi warned that this number could be “an underestimate”.
As a reminder, after Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba later today. Tropical storm conditions are forecast in Haiti this evening.
The Bahamas are set to experience hurricane conditions on Wednesday, with tropical storm conditions in the Turks and Caicos Islands forecast on Wednesday too.
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Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s water and environment minister, said he had more than 50 generators available to deploy after the hurricane, but warned people to set aside clean water and use it sparingly. “Every drop will count,” he said.
Parts of Jamaica could see rainfall of up to 40 inches and a “life-threatening storm surge”, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
Although exact timings are unclear due to the shifting nature of the hurricane’s speed, Melissa is expected to make landfall on the island early on Tuesday. It has just gone past 5.10am in Kingston, Jamaica.
Colin Bogle, an adviser for Mercy Corps, an aid agency, based near Kingston, said most families are sheltering in place despite the government ordering evacuations in flood-prone communities.
“Many have never experienced anything like this before, and the uncertainty is frightening,” he said. “There is profound fear of losing homes and livelihoods, of injury, and of displacement.”
Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, has said there are 850 shelters across the island, enough for more than 20,000 people.
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Yvette Cooper, the British foreign secretary, said in a post on X that she had spoken to her Jamaican counterpart, Kamina Smith, to “offer our support” and was monitoring the path of Hurricane Melissa.
The UK government is advising British nationals in Jamaica to continue to monitor weather updates, follow the guidance from local authorities and points to a list of available hurricane shelters for those in need.
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Here is a live tracker view as Hurricane Melissa barrels northeast through the Caribbean Sea:
Tens of thousands of Jamaicans impacted by power outages over the past day
More than 52,000 customers in Jamaica have experienced power outages over the past day as Hurricane Melissa approaches the island, according to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS).
The JPS said its teams have restored power to more than 30,000 of those affected, but warned that heavy rain and difficult terrain are creating access challenges in some areas as the weather continues to deteriorate.
“We will continue to restore power in affected communities for as long as it is safe for our crews to work,” the JPS said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Hurricane Melissa thought to be the most powerful storm of the year so far
Hurricane Melissa is predicted to be the most powerful hurricane to hit Jamaica on record and is reported to be the strongest storm anywhere on Earth so far this year when measuring wind speeds and central pressure.
Its maximum sustained winds are 175 mph (282km/h), according to the National Hurricane Center, as of 2pm ET.
Melissa was upgraded to a category five – the maximum strength – by the US-based National Hurricane Center yesterday.
Category five is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (250km/h). The chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, Jonathan Porter, said Melissa would be the strongest hurricane in recorded history to hit Jamaica directly.
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Jamaican health and wellness ministry reports three storm-related deaths
The devastating impact of the hurricane has already being felt in Jamaica. The island’s health and wellness ministry reported on Monday evening that there had been three storm-related deaths “in preparation” for the hurricane.
The Jamaican ministry of health and wellness added in its post on X:
We urge the public to exercise extreme caution: activities such as climbing roofs, securing sandbags, or cutting trees may seem manageable, but even minor mistakes during hurricane conditions can result in serious injury or death.
Driving through flooded roads or areas with debris is also extremely hazardous. Health centres remain closed, but hospitals are open and attending to storm-related injuries. Please be wise, stay safe, and protect yourself and your family during this storm.
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Summary
It’s 2am in Jamaica and in case you’re just joining us, here’s a rundown on the latest news as Hurricane Melissa moves closer to making landfall in Jamaica.
Jamaican officials called on the public to get to higher ground and shelters on Monday evening ahead of the category 5 hurricane, with prime minister Andrew Holness warning it could be a massively destructive storm – the island’s most violent on record.
The storm was on track to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, with forecasters saying it could cause catastrophic destruction from flooding, winds and landslides.
The storm was set to go ashore in Cuba later on Tuesday and then head toward the Bahamas.
Melissa has been blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean as it moved towards Jamaica.
The US National Hurricane Centre said the storm was “potentially catastrophic” and that “multiple life-threatening hazards” were in play in Jamaica. Among them was up to 13 feet (four metres) of storm surge inundation on parts of the south coast.
Melissa was centred about 155 miles (245km) south-west of Kingston on Monday night local time. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175mph (280km/h) and was moving north-west at 2mph (4km/h), the US National Hurricane Centre said. At category 5 – the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale – Melissa would be the strongest hurricane on record to hit Jamaica directly.
Parts of eastern Jamaica could see up to 30 inches (76cm) of rain, the centre said, citing the likelihood of “catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides”.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered in flood-prone communities in Jamaica but some people insisted on staying. Jamaican government officials said they were worried that fewer than 1,000 people were in the more than 130 shelters open across the island.
Several towns on Jamaica’s southern coast reported power outages as winds picked up throughout the night.
In eastern Cuba, a hurricane warning was in effect for the Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches (51cm) of rain was forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.
Cuban officials said they would evacuate more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city.
With agencies
Updated
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in flood-prone communities across Jamaica, with buses moving people to safe shelter, but as we’ve reported, some people have insisted on staying.
Local government minister Desmond McKenzie said on Monday evening that of the island’s 880-odd shelters standing by, only 133 were hosting locals.
They “should be seeing people now”, McKenzie said, adding:
I want to urge persons in these parishes to get to high ground as quickly as possible.
But despite the pleas to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s forecast landfall on the island on Tuesday, many Jamaicans weren’t going.
“I am not moving. I don’t believe I can run from death,” Roy Brown told Agence France-Presse in Kingston’s seaside area of Port Royal.
The plumber and tiler said he was reluctant to flee because of his past experiences with the poor conditions of government hurricane shelters.
Fisher Jennifer Ramdial agreed, adding: “I just don’t want to leave.”
Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness said at a press conference:
You have been warned. It’s now up to you to use that information to make the right decision.
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On the ground Jamaicans are bracing for the approaching storm.
Ava Brown is in St Elizabeth, which is expected to be one of the worst-affected areas, and the author and publisher said that despite taking every possible precaution, she was scared.
“I am a single mom so I had one of my neighbours help me to batten down my windows. We had to move certain things away from the house,” she said.
I’m really scared. It’s scary because, for example, you worry about how to ration the food.
Natricia Duncan and Anthony Lugg also report from Jamaica that Jason Henzell, the chair of a hotel in the popular tourist destination Treasure Beach, said he decided to leave his St Elizabeth home and relocate his family to Kingston as he saw the effects of the storm.
Henzell said that despite his efforts to “lead by example” and encourage other residents to leave the area and seek shelter elsewhere, some have chosen to remain.
Jamaicans are very deep in their faith … So as a people we [tend] to think that we can pray something away. And for the most part, we have been spared. So there is a feeling as though the Lord is going to protect us. He’s going to take [the hurricane] into a different direction…
But you know … at some point, the luck is going to run out, the blessings are going to run out. And I just, I hope and pray this is not that day, but it is looking like it is that day.
Hurricane Melissa began as a cluster of thunderstorms off the coast of west Africa and travelled west and developed into a depression, reaching tropical storm status to the north of Venezuela a week ago.
Its rapid intensification over the weekend strengthened Melissa to category 4 as it slowly moved west through the Caribbean Sea, reaching category 5 intensity on Monday morning with sustained winds of 160mph (257km/h).
As Brendan Wood and Lauren Herdman report in our weather tracker, if the storm maintains its current strength it will make it the strongest of only five hurricanes ever recorded to hit Jamaica directly.
Melissa’s notably slow traversal – averaging barely 5mph (8km/h) in recent days and now at 2mph (4km/h) – will exacerbate the impact, with extremely high rainfall along its path. Totals of 200-400mm (8in-16in) are likely across Jamaica by Tuesday evening, rising to 1,000mm in places.
Similar amounts are expected in south-eastern Cuba from late Tuesday and into Wednesday.
In comparison, London and Paris receive about 650mm a year.
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Here are some images showing the hurricane’s forecast path as it heads towards Jamaica from the south and the likelihood of it packing hurricane-force winds across a five-day forecast.
Melissa is currently reported as being centred about 150 miles (240km) south-west of Kingston and about 330 miles (530km) south-west of Guantánamo, Cuba.
The system had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280km/h) and was moving north-northeast at 2mph (4km/h), according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.
Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness said the country’s western end faced the worst destruction.
“I don’t believe there is any infrastructure within this region that could withstand a category 5 storm, so there could be significant dislocation,” he told CNN.
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Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages have been reported in Jamaica ahead of Hurricane Melissa, with officials warning that the cleanup and damage assessment will be slow.
Forecasters said the storm was expected to make landfall early Tuesday and slice diagonally across the island, entering near St Elizabeth parish in the south and exiting around St Ann parish in the north.
Hours before the storm, the government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage, the Associated Press is reporting
“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a category 5,” said the prime minister, Andrew Holness.
The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.
Amid the expectation of a life-threatening storm surge of up to four metres (13 feet) across southern Jamaica, officials are concerned about the impact on some hospitals along the coastline.
Health minister Christopher Tufton said some patients were relocated from the ground floor to the second floor, “and [we] hope that will suffice for any surge that will take place”.
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The US National Hurricane Centre has again warned on social media that Melissa is “expected to bring catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding and storm surge” to Jamaica on Tuesday.
The director of the centre in Miami, Dr Michael Brennan, said earlier in a live update on Monday that with the storm centre forecast to reach Jamaica’s coast “sometime early Tuesday”, destructive winds were expected in Melissa’s eyewall as it made landfall and moved across the island.
He said:
So we could have complete damage, destruction of shelters, homes and buildings in the path of that eyewall, not just along the coast but in areas of high terrain across the central part of the island as the centre of Melissa moves across the island during the day on Tuesday …
Everyone in Jamaica needs to be in their safe place now to ride out the storm all the way through tomorrow.
We’re also very concerned about the potential for life-threatening storm surge inundation near and to the right of where the centre crosses the south coast early tomorrow, with the potential for nine to 13 feet [2.7 to 4 metres] of inundation.
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Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of Hurricane Melissa as it moves closer to making landfall in Jamaica and threatens catastrophic destruction from flooding, winds and landslides. Here’s the latest as it as just passed 12 midnight in Kingston.
Jamaican officials called on the public to get to higher ground and shelters on Monday evening ahead of the category 5 hurricane, with the prime minister warning it could be a massively destructive storm – the island’s most violent on record.
The storm was on track to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas. Melissa has been blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean as it moved towards Jamaica.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Melissa was “potentially catastrophic” and that “multiple life-threatening hazards” were in play in Jamaica. Among them was up to 13 feet (four metres) of storm surge inundation on parts of the south coast.
Andrew Holness, the Jamaican prime minister, said as the storm neared: “I have been on my knees in prayer.”
In other key developments:
Melissa was centred about 155 miles (245km) south-west of Kingston on Monday night local time. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175mph (280km/h) and was moving north-west at 2mph (4km/h), the US National Hurricane Centre said.
At category 5 – the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale – Melissa would be the strongest hurricane on record to hit Jamaica directly.
Parts of eastern Jamaica could see up to 30 inches (76cm) of rain, the centre said, citing the likelihood of “catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides”.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered in flood-prone communities in Jamaica, with buses ferrying people to safe shelter, although some people insisted on staying. Jamaican government officials said they were worried that fewer than 1,000 people were in the more than 130 shelters open across the island.
Melissa has been blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean as it headed towards Jamaica.
In eastern Cuba, a hurricane warning was in effect for the Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches (51cm) of rain was forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.
Cuban officials said they would evacuate more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city. Long bus lines formed in some areas.
With agencies
Updated
