Hurricane Melissa tore through the northern Caribbean on Wednesday after battering Cuba’s second-largest city, cutting off hundreds of rural communities, causing widespread destruction in Jamaica and bringing torrential rains to Haiti. According to Bloomberg, at least 33 people lost their lives and caused $8 billion in damage.
Hurricane Melissa Update: Top 10 Points
- Across the Caribbean, Hurricane Melissa’s strong winds destroyed homes and buildings, blocked roads, left people stranded on rooftops and caused widespread power outages. Jamaica’s airports were closed and around 25,000 tourists were stranded while authorities warned residents of crocodiles displaced by the storm.
2. At least 25 people have been killed in Haiti, with 18 others reported missing, according to the AP, citing the Haitian Civil Protection Agency. In the southern coastal city, floods destroyed dozens of houses, 20 dead and 10 missing. Meanwhile, at least 8 people have died in Jamaica.
3. Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, all international tourists are safe in Jamaica. Senior US State Department officials noted that over 8,200 US citizens are registered in Jamaica and other affected countries through the federal travel system, although the actual number of Americans still in the region is likely higher.
4. According to Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki Research, “It was massive destruction. It was a very slow, very wet storm.” He mentioned that a faster-moving storm would have resulted in much less damage, Bloomberg reported.
5. Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as the strongest hurricane to make a direct hit on the island, with sustained winds of 185 mph (298 km/h), well above the threshold for a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the hurricane scale, according to Reuters.
6. Elon Musk’s Starlink is offering satellite support to help Jamaicans restore connectivity after damage to communications infrastructure, authorities said Wednesday.
7. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the UK has pre-positioned a Royal Navy ship and special rapid deployment teams in the region and is ready to give Jamaica its “full support”. He added: “The scenes of destruction coming out of Jamaica are truly shocking.”
8. US forecaster AccuWeather noted that Melissa was the third most intense hurricane on record in the Caribbean and also its slowest moving, contributing to its extreme destructiveness.
9. Jamaica’s government issued an “all clear” to begin recovery efforts, but announced that emergency shelters would remain open throughout the week for those displaced from damaged homes, a Reuters report noted.
10. Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said more than 25,000 people had sought shelter and stressed: “No one must be turned away from the shelters.”
(With input from agencies)
