Hurricane Melissa Strikes Jamaica: 300 km/h Winds and Severe Flooding

Hurricane Melissa has struck Jamaica with winds reaching 300 km/h, leaving a trail of destruction. The storm has caused severe flooding across the island, resulting in extensive damage to infrastructure and widespread disruption for residents.

A Relentless Storm Unleashed on Jamaica

At just past noon on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, the southwestern coast of Jamaica came under direct assault from a hurricane unlike any in recent memory. Hurricane Melissa, its winds howling at nearly 300 km/h near New Hope, some 160 kilometers from Kingston, tore into communities with a ferocity that eclipsed even the devastation of Hurricane Katrina two decades prior. The scope of this disaster is already being described as unprecedented in the island’s modern history.

Immediate and Widespread Impact

Before the storm’s eye even reached landfall, torrential rains swept through the capital and power outages rippled across vast areas. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) sounded alarms over “potentially deadly gusts” threatening all corners of the island. According to Red Cross projections, up to 1.5 million people—more than half of Jamaica’s population—may be directly impacted by Melissa’s wrath.

Several factors explain this mounting crisis:

• Severe coastal flooding, putting homes and businesses at risk
• Landslides, with hillsides already saturated and unstable
• Major infrastructure damage, as previous storms left many systems vulnerable

Casualties are climbing: three lives have been lost in Haiti, another in the Dominican Republic, and at least three more locally during storm preparations—a grim toll amid mounting anxiety.

Misinformation and Public Reluctance Hamper Response

Despite authorities opening more than eight hundred shelters and urging evacuation—pleas amplified by national figures including Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Minister Desmond McKenzie, and even track legend Usain Bolt—a significant number of residents remain skeptical. Some recall poor experiences in collective shelters; others simply mistrust official guidance. Social media only complicates matters further, as fake videos generated by artificial intelligence circulate widely, muddying an already fraught information landscape.

The Shadow of Climate Change Grows Longer

Meteorologists point to one unmistakable trend: rising sea temperatures are fueling ever-more powerful tropical cyclones. Notably, expert Kerry Emanuel warns that “the water is as dangerous as the wind.” Memories linger from past disasters like Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which claimed forty Jamaican lives but was ultimately less intense than Melissa’s current onslaught.

With neighboring Cuba now bracing for impact—schools closing, mass evacuations underway, electricity failures straining nerves—the entire region finds itself holding its breath as climate-driven threats escalate year after year.