At least 30 dead as Hurricane Melissa unleashes devastation across Caribbean

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HAVANA/KINGSTON: Hurricane Melissa roared through the Caribbean on Wednesday after pounding Cuba’s second-largest city, cutting through hundreds of rural communities, devastating Jamaica, and ravaging Haiti, where at least 25 people were killed.

Melissa hit Jamaica on Tuesday as the strongest hurricane to make a direct hit on its coast, with sustained winds of 185 mph (298 km/h), above the minimum strength for Category 5, the strongest classification for a hurricane.

As of 2100 GMT on Wednesday, Melissa was a Category 1 hurricane moving northeast of the Bahamas, prompting the initial evacuation of about 1,500 people.

The storm didn’t directly hit Haiti, the Caribbean’s most populous nation, but it dumped days of rain on the island nation. Officials reported at least 25 deaths, mostly due to flooding in Pettio, a coastal town 64 kilometers (40 miles) west of the capital, where a river burst its banks.

Haiti’s disaster management agency said at least 10 children were killed and 12 people were missing.

In Haiti, where more than 1.3 million people have been displaced by a gang conflict, officials said more than 1,000 homes had been flooded. People living in makeshift camps said the floods had made it impossible to sit or sleep, and said the government and aid groups were slow to bring supplies.

Fortune Vital, a homeless man in Les Cayes, said he had been separated from his family, which already lacked enough food. “If a hurricane comes on top of all the problems we have, we’ll die easily,” he said.

‘Like missiles flying through glass’

On Tuesday, Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica, areas already battered by last year’s Hurricane Barrel. U.S. forecaster EcoWeather estimated that Melissa caused $22 billion in damages and economic losses in Jamaica alone, and that rebuilding could take a decade or more.

Four bodies were washed away by floodwaters in the southwestern agricultural center of St. Elizabeth, local officials said. About 77% of Jamaica was without power, officials said Wednesday morning. The capital, Kingston, suffered the worst damage and its main airport was due to reopen on Thursday.

Prime Minister Andrew Hollis visited St Elizabeth’s only public hospital, Black River Hospital, where aerial footage showed buildings being demolished, roofs blown off, power cables knocked down and fields littered with rubble.

Hospital workers there reported significant damage to the building, and staff told the prime minister they spent the night in fear of their families as they worked by flashlight to care for patients.

“It was the scariest experience of my entire life,” said one hospital worker. “It’s beyond imagination. At one point it was like shooting missiles through glass.”

Jamaica’s government gave an “all clear” to begin recovery efforts, but said it would keep emergency shelters open through the week as people continued to arrive from devastated homes.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said more than 25,000 people had been admitted. “Nobody should be turned away from shelters,” he said.

Mass evacuation in Cuba

Melissa was a significant Category 3 storm when it hit Cubao, moving at 120 mph, making landfall in Gama, a rural, mountainous area 25 miles (40 km) west of Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second most populous city.

At least 241 communities remained isolated and without communication on Wednesday after the storm passed through Santiago province, affecting initial media reports.

Across eastern Cuba, authorities evacuated about 735,000 people as the storm approached. Most stayed in emergency centers.

No casualties were reported on Wednesday, but President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island had suffered extensive damage and that rain was continuing to fall in the region.

“A large hurricane landfall in the dark is incredibly dangerous,”

“The storm lost wind intensity as it interacted with the mountains of southeastern Cuba, but forced upward movement of air over the mountain region to squeeze out tremendous amounts of rain.”

Cuban officials also warned of severe impacts on crops ahead of the northern hemisphere’s winter growing season.

Cuba was already suffering from shortages of food, fuel, electricity and medicine that complicated life, leading to a record-breaking exodus from 2021.

On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly again voted overwhelmingly to allow the United States to end its Cold War-era economic embargo on the communist-run country.

Loss and damage

Meteorologists at Acuweather said Melissa was the third most intense hurricane to hit the Caribbean, after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988.

But scientists say that hurricanes are intensifying with greater frequency as a result of rising sea waters due to greenhouse gas emissions. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting countries to provide references to the tropical island nation in the form of aid or debt relief.

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Center, an offshoot of the regional bloc CARICOM, issued a statement in solidarity with those affected by Hurricane Melissa and called for stronger efforts to curb climate change.

It said Melissa’s rapid intensification, due to record-breaking Caribbean sea temperatures, required a reduction in the UN’s “loss and damage” fund.

The fund was established in 2023 as a mechanism for developing countries to quickly and reliably access financing to recover from more frequent extreme weather events. However, donations from wealthy, polluting countries have fallen short of targets, and the US withdrew from its board in March.

The devastation caused by Melissa drew support from around the world, with some countries pledging support in the form of cash, food aid and relief teams.

In Montego Bay, a popular tourist destination in Jamaica, a resident told Reuters the water reached her waist and rescuers had to enter her home to save her and her baby.

“All the trees my father planted are gone,” he said.