Hurricane Melissa Devastates Jamaica, At Least 65 Dead

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28 as a catastrophic Category 5 storm with sustained winds near 185 mph, shredding western areas and producing widespread flooding, wind and storm-surge damage. Jamaican authorities say 32 deaths have been confirmed on the island and eight additional suspected deaths are under investigation, while regional counts put the Caribbean toll at at least 65 — including 31 in Haiti and two in the Dominican Republic. The storm caused extensive infrastructure damage, including twisted transmission towers, damaged water systems, widespread outages with about half of customers restored (mainly in urban areas), roughly 25 communities still marooned and all international airports now reopened. Security forces have deployed helicopters to recover victims and the government launched a Registry of Volunteers (supportjamaica.gov.jm) as diaspora groups, U.S. community drives and NGOs such as Heart to Heart International mobilize supplies and assessments. Jamaica has also triggered a catastrophe bond that could release up to US$150 million for relief, and scientists cited climate change as increasing the likelihood of such extreme storms; officials warn recovery will be lengthy and complex with tourism recovery targeted for Dec. 15, 2025.