Aerial view shows destroyed homes and flooding in Black River, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, after Hurricane Melissa swept through the Caribbean. October 29, 2025. (Photo: Ricardo Makyn/AFP)
The death toll from Hurricane Melissa has climbed to nearly 50 people, officials confirmed on Thursday, as the powerful storm left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and now moves toward Bermuda.
Floodwaters are beginning to recede in the Bahamas, though high water remains in parts of Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The NHC described Melissa as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, with maximum sustained winds reaching 155 kilometers per hour. A study by Imperial College London found that human-induced climate change made the storm four times more likely.
Bermuda was placed under a hurricane warning late Thursday, with tropical storm conditions already being reported on the island.
Government officials across the Caribbean are urging residents to remain on high alert.
In Jamaica, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon confirmed 19 deaths—nine in Westmoreland and eight in St. Elizabeth, the hardest-hit areas. Communications and transportation networks remain down across much of Jamaica and Cuba, hampering full damage assessments.
In Haiti, where economic and political instability has deepened the crisis, the civil defense agency reported 30 deaths, 20 injuries, and 20 missing persons. More than 1,000 homes were flooded, and 16,000 people have taken shelter in evacuation centers.
Cuba, already struggling through its worst economic crisis in decades, evacuated more than 735,000 people in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, and Guantanamo. Residents in flooded areas described the situation as catastrophic.
“Melissa killed us because it left us destroyed,” said Felicia Correa of La Trampa, near El Cobre. “We were already going through tremendous hardship. Now, of course, we are much worse off.”
The storm’s aftermath has drawn international attention. The United States deployed disaster assistance teams and rescue personnel to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, with teams en route to Haiti. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is also “prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba.”
The United Kingdom pledged £2.5 million ($3.3 million) in emergency support and announced limited charter flights to evacuate British nationals.
In Jamaica, UN Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu described the damage as “tremendous and unprecedented,” affecting infrastructure, property, and communication networks.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that Hurricane Melissa matched the 1935 record for the most intense storm ever to make landfall.
In Seaford Town, farmer Christopher Hacker surveyed the ruins of his restaurant and banana plantations.
“Everything is gone,” he said simply.
UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell called the disaster “a brutal reminder of the urgent need to step up climate action on all fronts.”
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