Hurricane Melissa Devastates Jamaica, Moves Toward Bermuda

Hurricane Melissa made a devastating Category 5 landfall in Jamaica, leaving parts of the island unrecognizable and affecting more than one million people while causing dozens of deaths across the Caribbean—including at least five in Jamaica and 23 in Haiti—and also striking Cuba and the Bahamas. The storm later weakened and then re‑intensified to Category 2 as it raced northeast, prompting a hurricane warning for Bermuda and producing hurricane‑force winds extending about 80 miles and tropical‑storm‑force winds out to roughly 255 miles. The National Hurricane Center said Melissa is moving rapidly to the northeast and is forecast to pass northwest of Bermuda and south of Newfoundland before transitioning to a post‑tropical low by Friday, which will expand its wind field and bring heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas to waters south of Newfoundland and parts of Atlantic Canada. Officials and rescue teams are still assessing widespread destruction and mounting recovery needs, and the United States has signaled it will deploy disaster response teams to affected Caribbean countries. Climate scientists and commentators say storms like Melissa—stronger, faster‑forming, and more destructive—are being amplified by human‑caused climate change, prompting debate over whether the Saffir–Simpson scale should be expanded.