by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
KINGSTON (Worthy News) – Hurricane Melissa was rapidly threatening Jamaica with potentially deadly, never-before-seen catastrophic winds and up to three feet (91.5 centimeters) of rain, witnesses and officials said Monday.
Sustained winds of up to 175 miles (282 kilometers) per hour were recorded Monday afternoon as the slow-moving Category 5 storm barreled toward the Caribbean island. Meteorologists warned it could become the largest and most destructive hurricane on record for Jamaica.
“Many of these communities will not survive this flooding,” warned Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s Minister of Local Government. “I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously.”
As of 2 p.m. local time, Melissa was described as “catastrophic” — the highest classification on the Saffir-Simpson scale — according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
PATH OF DESTRUCTION
The NHC expected Melissa to move directly over Jamaica late Monday or early Tuesday, cross eastern Cuba on Tuesday night, and reach the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos by Wednesday.
Jamaican authorities announced that they are preparing to evacuate more than 600,000 people, particularly from low-lying coastal and mountainous regions, which are threatened by landslides and storm surges.
Neighboring nations, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, were also bracing for life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. Officials said three people in Haiti were confirmed dead after torrential rains wiped out nearly 40 acres (16.2 hectares) of maize. In the Dominican Republic, one person remains missing, and more than 750 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Tropical-storm conditions were expected to linger through Wednesday across Hispaniola, prolonging the humanitarian emergency.
THIRD CATEGORY
Melissa is the third Category 5 storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, according to weather agencies.
Climate-change fearing experts said the volume of massive storms, rare in the past, underscored “climate-driven storm” intensification in the Caribbean.
International relief agencies were already mobilizing Monday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was coordinating food and emergency aid distributions for later in the week, anticipating widespread devastation.
After landfall, the sheer volume of rainfall and extended exposure to hurricane-force winds could devastate infrastructure, agriculture, and coastal communities across Jamaica and beyond, authorities warned.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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