Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in over 150 years, has unleashed devastating destruction across the Caribbean, with a confirmed death toll of at least 49 people across the region.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Jamaica: Hardest Hit and Severely Compromised
- Landfall and Intensity: Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph).
- Casualties: At least 19 deaths have been confirmed.
- Infrastructure: The country’s infrastructure is described as “severely compromised.” As of Thursday, 72% of the island was without power, and over 13,000 residents remained in shelters.
- Local Devastation: The hard-hit coastal town of Black River was described as experiencing “complete and utter destruction” after being hit by over 15 feet of storm surge. Looting was reported as a “matter of survival” for desperate residents.
Cuba: Extensive Damage and Mass Evacuations
- Landfall and Intensity: The storm hit Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane.
- Evacuations: Over 735,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, which likely contributed to no deaths being officially reported in Cuba as of Thursday.
- Damage: President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed “extensive damage,” including flooding, mudslides, and property destruction, particularly in eastern regions. Rising rivers cut off as many as 140,000 people.
🇭🇹 Haiti: Highest Death Toll from Flooding
- Impact: Although Melissa did not make direct landfall, the resulting torrential rains and flooding caused significant damage.
- Casualties: Haiti reported the highest death toll with at least 30 fatalities, including 10 children. Twenty of these deaths were due to a flooded river bursting its banks in Petit-Goâve.
International assistance has been quickly mobilized:
- United States: The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) was activated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and has deployed to the region. Rubio also announced the US is “prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance” to Cuba.
- United Kingdom: The UK is deploying £2.5 million ($3.3 million) in emergency humanitarian funding.
- Red Cross: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched an emergency appeal for $23 million to assist people in Jamaica over the next two years.
The storm, which weakened to a Category 1 as it lashed Bermuda, is expected to become post-tropical as it heads north into cooler Atlantic water. Emergency officials across the Caribbean are continuing efforts to clear roads and reach isolated communities as the long and complicated recovery process begins.
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