Hurricane Melissa regains strength as it approaches Cuba

The US National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Melissa restrengthened to a Category 4 storm as it picked up speed over the Caribbean Sea and approached eastern Cuba.

It took the storm hours to cross Jamaica. This land passage diminished its winds, dropping it to a Category 3 — down from the maximum Category 5 — before it ramped back up to a Category 4.

Meanwhile, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area,” and authorities warned residents to shelter in place due to the continued risk of flooding and landslides as dangerous weather persisted, even after the worst of the hurricane had passed.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica and has been downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane.

With wind speed reaching 295 kilometers per hour, it is the strongest-ever storm to directly hit the Caribbean nation of 2.8 million people.

US weather officials said the center of Hurricane Melissa moved off Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon and headed for Cuba.

“Life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds are likely to begin later today” in eastern Cuba, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. 

Melissa is forecast to make landfall on the Communist-run island in the early hours of Wednesday.

Melissa is losing some strength, but it remains an “extremely dangerous” hurricane as it’s moving across northwestern Jamaica, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

As of 16:00. ET (20:00 UTC), Melissa is a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). 

Jamaican health officials warned residents to stay alert for crocodiles that may have been displaced by Hurricane Melissa.

“Rising water levels in rivers, gullies, and swamps could cause crocodiles to move into residential areas,” posted the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) on Instagram.

“Residents living near these areas are therefore advised to remain vigilant and avoid flood-waters,” it added. 

Here are some of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record:

Hurricane Allen (1980)

The strongest Atlantic storm ever recorded by wind speed, Hurricane Allen claimed over 200 lives in Haiti before moving toward Texas in 1980. Its sustained winds peaked at 190 mph (305 km/h) but weakened before landfall.

Hurricane Melissa (2025)

Crashing into Jamaica with 185 mph (295 km/h) winds, Melissa tied the record for the strongest speeds by an Atlantic storm while making landfall.

Hurricane Dorian (2019)

Dorian devastated the Bahamas as the strongest hurricane ever to strike the country, packing sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h).

Hurricane Wilma (2005)

Wilma rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm and reached estimated sustained winds around 185 mph (295 km/h). It slammed into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before striking South Florida.

Hurricane Gilbert (1988)

Gilbert reached sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and set the then-record lowest pressure in the Atlantic, leaving a trail of destruction across Jamaica and Mexico.

Roughly 6,000 people in Jamaica were sheltering in 382 emergency centers as Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island Tuesday, according to authorities.

Despite repeated evacuation warnings, Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, expressed concern that few residents in high-risk areas such as Saint Elizabeth Parish in the south were using the shelters.

Officials estimate that more than 50,000 people may need to temporarily leave their homes due to the storm’s destruction.

The Jamaican government has launched a website called Support Jamaica to provide residents with up-to-date information.

After making landfall in Jamaica, Melissa is expected to remain a strong hurricane as it crosses eastern Cuba and strikes the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos by Wednesday.

In Cuba, authorities said that around 500,000 people had been evacuated from areas vulnerable to winds and flooding.

Meanwhile, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis has issued evacuations for people in the eastern and southern parts of the archipelago.

Despite the government ordering evacuations in flood-prone areas, Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps adviser based near the capital, Kingston, said most families were sheltering in place.

“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.”

Experts have predicted that the damage from Melissa could rival that of Hurricane Katrina.

Before landfall, more than 240,000 people were already without power, and about one-fourth of the telecommunications system was offline, according to Transport and Energy Minister Darryl Vaz.

Vaz said crews would clean and test the island’s two major international airports, which sit close to sea level, on Wednesday to allow emergency relief flights to arrive as soon as Thursday.

Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica on Tuesday — the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean island since records were first kept 174 years ago.

Devastating winds, torrential flooding, and storm surges were already battering Jamaica ahead of the storm. 

“The safety and security of our visitors are paramount,” said Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett in a statement posted on X by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

It added that around 25,000 visitors are on the island. Those needing to extend their stay are offered “distress rates,” and shelter options are also available.

Jamaica’s two main international airports, the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, remain closed, but will reopen “as soon as conditions permit.” 

Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 5 superstorm, is threatening to cause devastating damage across the Caribbean. Climate scientist Dr. Friederike Otto from London’s Imperial College says warming temperatures are making powerful storms like this more intense and more frequent.

As Hurricane Melissa approached the southern coast of Jamaica on Tuesday, local authorities and aid agencies said there was little more they could do to prepare for landfall and were focusing on their responses once the category 5 storm has moved on.

The United Nations‘ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it would be dispatching solar lamps, blankets, indoor tents, generators and other items from its logistics hub in Barbados as soon as Melissa had crossed Jamaica.

“Many people are likely to be displaced from their homes and [will be] in urgent need of shelter and relief,” said Natasha Greaves of IOM Jamaica.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit organization Direct Relief said it has enough medical equipment to treat 3,000 people for a month on standby in nearby Panama and ready to deploy to Jamaica.

It also will send a shipment of 100 field aid packs from its warehouse in California as soon as Jamaica’s main international airport reopens.