Photo from scientificamerican.com: Hurricane Melissa
Source: BBC
DST News: Jamaica is on high alert as Hurricane Melissa, the world’s most powerful storm of 2025 — and possibly the strongest ever to strike the island — barrels toward its shores with winds reaching 175 mph (282 km/h).
At least three people have already died in Jamaica, while four others were killed in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the massive Category 5 hurricane advances northward, packing destructive winds, torrential rain, and the threat of widespread flooding and landslides.
According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Melissa is now the most intense storm globally this year, based on its maximum sustained wind and low central pressure. If it makes landfall at its current strength, it will be the strongest hurricane to ever hit Jamaica since recordkeeping began in 1851.
Tropical storm conditions are already being felt across the island, with the NHC warning that “catastrophic and life-threatening hurricane-force winds” will begin early Tuesday. The storm’s slow movement — just 2 mph (4 km/h) — is expected to prolong rainfall, with up to 40 inches (100 cm) forecast in some regions.
“This slow motion is going to create a catastrophic flooding event for Jamaica,” said Jamie Rhome, NHC deputy director. “The rainfall, combined with already saturated ground, could trigger deadly landslides in mountainous areas.”
The Jamaican government has declared a state of emergency in several parishes and ordered mandatory evacuations in low-lying and coastal zones, including parts of Kingston. Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged citizens to “stay indoors, obey evacuation orders, and prepare for severe impacts,” adding that “no infrastructure in the region can withstand a Category 5 storm.”
Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon told the BBC that all 881 emergency shelters across the country have been activated. “We’ve had constant rain throughout October, and the soil is saturated. The coming deluge will lead to extensive flooding and landslides,” she said.
Witnesses on the ground describe growing anxiety. Evadney Campbell, a visitor from London, said she was checking on neighbours in Jamaica’s north coast. “Many in low-lying areas are refusing to leave for fear of looting,” she told the BBC.
Meanwhile, in Hagley Gap, a mountainous town in the southeast, teacher Damian Anderson said his community was already cut off. “We can’t move. We’re scared,” he told Reuters.
A Hurricane Hunter aircraft dispatched to collect atmospheric data had to abort its mission due to extreme turbulence, US officials said.
Melissa is forecast to move over Jamaica’s northern coast by Tuesday night, then head toward Cuba and The Bahamas by Wednesday, bringing hurricane conditions to those areas and tropical storm effects to Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In Haiti, at least three people have died and hundreds of homes have been inundated, while in the Dominican Republic, a 79-year-old man drowned in Santo Domingo and a 13-year-old boy remains missing after being swept away by currents.
As Jamaica braces for impact, Prime Minister Holness issued a final warning to citizens: “You have been warned. The storm is coming. It’s now up to you to make the right decision. We will weather this storm and rebuild stronger.”
