Dozens dead as Hurricane Melissa batters Caribbean, moves towards Bahamas

Washington: Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record, has caused widespread devastation across the Caribbean, leaving dozens dead and entire communities cut off as it moves towards the Bahamas.

The storm made landfall in Cuba early Wednesday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami.

Cuban authorities said the island suffered “significant damage”, with rising river levels isolating around 140,000 people.

The storm has since moved off the island and into the Atlantic Ocean, where it is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flooding to the southeast Bahamas.

Hurricane Melissa earlier struck Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane around 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the strongest storm in the island’s recorded history.

The hurricane caused severe damage to infrastructure, downed power lines, and left most of the country without electricity.

Many areas remain inaccessible, and the full scale of destruction is still being assessed.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared Jamaica a disaster area as emergency crews began rescue and relief operations, particularly in St. Elizabeth Parish, which local officials said was “underwater”.

The eye of the hurricane passed over the island’s western parishes, sparing the capital Kingston from the worst of the impact.

Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s Minister for Local Government and Community Development, said on Wednesday that the government had not confirmed any official death toll.

“We have not had alerts of any deaths so far. So, we cannot presume that there are deaths,” McKenzie told reporters.

Local authorities, however, have reported fatalities elsewhere in the region.

In Haiti, at least 25 people died in the town of Petit-Goave after a river flooded by Melissa burst its banks, the town’s Mayor said.

Three people were killed in Jamaica during storm preparations, and one person died in the Dominican Republic.

The NHC described Melissa as the most powerful hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season and one of the strongest ever to make landfall in the Atlantic basin.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on X that the US is “in close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and The Bahamas” as the countries respond to the hurricane.

“We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with critical lifesaving supplies,” Rubio said.

On Wednesday, Melissa had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 105 metre per hour or 169 km per hour.

IANS