Hurricane Melissa is advancing through the Caribbean this Monday after reaching the maximum category with winds of up to almost 260 kilometers per hour, meteorologists said, urging residents of Jamaica and other areas to take shelter immediately. Melissa has already caused four deaths during the week: three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where a teenager is also missing.
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“Melissa It is now a category 5 hurricane.wrote the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) in your latest newsletter.
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LOOK: Hurricane Melissa reaches Category 5 and threatens catastrophic flooding in Jamaica
“Destructive winds, storm surges and catastrophic flooding will worsen in Jamaica throughout the day and into the night,” he warned.
The slowness with which the storm moves is worrying, since the areas in its path may suffer adverse conditions for a long time.
The path of Hurricane Melissa. (NHC).
At 0900 GMT on Monday, The hurricane was located about 210 km southwest of Kingstonthe capital of Jamaica, and about 500 km southwest of Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.
Melissa reaches winds that approach 260 kilometers per hour, indicated the NHC. The Meteorologists predict about a meter of rain, flash floods and landslides in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Crews clear the Sandy Ravine, the main diversion channel for flood waters, in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, on October 25, 2025. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn/AFP).
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The inhabitants of the affected areas “will have to remain sheltered in their homes for two or three days, or even longer for populations that are isolated by the catastrophic floods,” NHC deputy director Jamie Rhome had previously noted in a video.
He warned that conditions in Jamaica “will deteriorate very, very rapidly in the coming hours.”
“A bet that cannot be won”
Jamaica’s Minister of Local Government, Desmond McKenzie, reported in a press conference that storm shelters were opened across the country.
“This is a bet that cannot be won. You cannot bet against Melissa“he emphasized.
Melissa It is the thirteenth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from the beginning of June to the end of November.
Storm surge impacting the seawall protecting the Palisadoes Strip, the route to Norman Manley International Airport, ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s arrival in Kingston, Jamaica, on October 25, 2025. Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP).
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After passing Jamaica, the storm is forecast to continue north and cross eastern Cuba on Tuesday night, while it continues to impact Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
In the Dominican Republic, a 79-year-old man died after being swept away by a stream, and a 13-year-old boy is still missinglocal authorities reported on Saturday.
In Haiti, the civil protection agency reported the death of three people due to the storm.
“You feel helpless, unable to do anything, just run and leave everything behind,” Angelita Francisco, a 66-year-old housewife who fled her neighborhood in the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, told AFP.
The NHC warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening flash floods, as well as numerous landslides” in Jamaica.
The destructive winds will cause “significant damage to infrastructure and prolonged power and communications outages”he added.
The Jamaica Meteorological Service predicted a storm surge of up to four meters along the country’s southern coast, and authorities ordered evacuations of several coastal areas of the island nation.
Kingston International Airport closed Saturday night, as did all seaports.
The last major hurricane to hit Jamaica was Beryl in early July 2024, which caused at least four deaths.
