Jamaica braces for world’s strongest storm of 2025

Three people have already died in Jamaica as it braces for the world’s strongest storm this year – and perhaps the strongest on record on the island – with US meteorologists warning of “catastrophic and life-threatening” conditions.

With wind speeds of up to 175 mph (282 km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a Category 5 hurricane – maximum strength. The hurricane is strengthening and is expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island early Tuesday.

It has been blamed for the deaths of four people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as the lives lost in Jamaica.

Experts warn that Melissa’s slow pace could mean prolonged heavy rain in some areas, increasing the risk of deadly floods and landslides.

The latest data from the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows that in terms of maximum winds and low central pressure, Melissa is the world’s strongest storm so far this year.

At its current strength, the hurricane will be the strongest to hit Jamaica since records began in 1851, CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, reported.

The National Hurricane Center’s latest public advisory update at 23:00 EDT (03:00 GMT) on Monday said tropical storm conditions were already occurring in Jamaica, and catastrophic and life-threatening hurricane-force wind conditions were expected to begin Tuesday morning.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness said three “storm-related deaths” had already been reported in Jamaica on Monday evening before the hurricane made landfall.

The National Hurricane Center said Melissa is currently located about 140 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Kingston, with winds of 175 miles per hour (280 kilometers per hour). It was moving “north-northeast” at 2 mph (4 km/h).

The update warned that inside the eyewall — the inner portion of the hurricane next to the eye, where wind speeds are typically the highest — “complete structural failure is likely.”

She urged extra caution in “higher areas” in Jamaica, where wind speeds can be 30% stronger.

NHC Director Michael Brennan warned Jamaicans: “Do not venture outside with the life-threatening threat of flash floods and numerous landslides expected until Tuesday.”

He advised not to “get out into the eye as it passes over your area. Melissa’s forward speed will increase and the eye will start moving very quickly across the island.”

Up to 100 cm of rain is possible in parts of Jamaica over the next four days, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“The potential for heavy rainfall, due to slow-moving rain, will create a catastrophic event here for Jamaica,” said Jimmy Rome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center.

The Jamaican government has ordered evacuations for parts of Kingston. In an interview with the BBC, Jamaican Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon warned of an impending storm “the likes of which we have never seen before.”

She told the BBC: “It’s been raining all through October. So the ground is already very saturated. And then having this much rain means we’re going to have widespread flooding and landslides in mountainous areas.”

The minister added: “We have 881 shelters, and we have activated all our shelters, and all of them are free.”

The Hurricane Hunter aircraft, which collects data in severe storms and provides forecasts on the path and intensity of hurricanes, was forced to abort its mission after experiencing severe turbulence, a spokesperson for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told CBS.

Evadne Campbell, a Londoner currently visiting her family on Jamaica’s north coast, told the BBC: “The house I live in is hurricane-proof. It’s built with blocks and steel from top to bottom and filled with concrete.”

“We are checking on the neighbors to see if they are okay.

“I’m concerned about people living in the lowlands in parts of the southeast. Many don’t want to leave their homes because they’re worried their homes will be looted,” Campbell said.

Damian Anderson, a 47-year-old teacher from the mountain town of Hagley Gap in the south-east, said impassable roads had already isolated his community.

Reuters quoted him as saying, “We cannot move. We are afraid.”

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness ordered the immediate evacuation of several vulnerable communities across the island.

In a post on X, he urged “every Jamaican to prepare, stay indoors during the storm, and comply with evacuation orders.”

“We will weather this storm and build back stronger,” he wrote.

“You have been warned. It is now up to you to use this information to make the right decision,” he said during a press conference. “I don’t think there is any infrastructure within this area that can withstand a Category 5 storm, so there could be significant disruption,” he told CNN.

In some rural areas, school buses have been used to transport vulnerable people to shelters and around the country.

Later Tuesday night, hurricane conditions are expected in Cuba, as well as tropical storm conditions in Haiti, according to the NHS report.

The Bahamas is expected to experience hurricane conditions on Wednesday, with tropical storm conditions in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday.

It is already known that at least three people died and hundreds of homes were flooded in Haiti when Melissa brought heavy rains to the island of Hispaniola.

In the Dominican Republic, located on the eastern side of Hispaniola, one person also died.

Local media identified the victim as a 79-year-old man who was swept away by floodwaters in the capital, Santo Domingo.

A 13-year-old boy was also reported missing after being swept away by strong currents while swimming in the sea.

Many people were rescued after they were trapped in their cars due to rising floodwaters.

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