Hurricane Melissa made its second landfall early Wednesday near Chivirico, Cuba, as a Category 3 hurricane packing 120 mph winds, just hours after battering Jamaica with one of the most destructive storms in its history.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding, landslides, and hurricane-force winds continue across eastern Cuba as the system tracks toward the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Bermuda.
Melissa first came ashore in Jamaica on Tuesday near New Hope as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds—tied among the strongest Atlantic landfalls on record. The storm ripped roofs from homes, toppled power lines, flooded farmland, and left millions without electricity.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared Jamaica a disaster area, promising rapid relief efforts and pledging to rebuild. “Our country has been ravaged by Hurricane Melissa, but we will rebuild — and we will do so even better than before,” he said.
Reports show widespread damage across Jamaica, with at least three deaths linked to storm preparations and numerous injuries. Hospitals, roads, and communication networks remain crippled as recovery begins.
In Cuba, authorities urged residents to remain sheltered as the storm sweeps across the island. Forecasts warn that flooding rains and strong winds will persist before Melissa re-enters the Atlantic and strengthens again.
Melissa is the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Caribbean since Dorian in 2019 and now ranks as the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
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