Key Takeaways
- Hurricane Melissa leaves at least 50 dead across Caribbean
- Category 5 storm caused $48-52 billion in estimated damages
- Jamaica suffered worst direct hit with 19 confirmed deaths
- Haiti reports 31 deaths from flooding despite not being direct hit
- Massive infrastructure damage described as “apocalyptic”
Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Caribbean storms on record, has dissipated after leaving a trail of destruction across Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, with at least 50 confirmed fatalities. The Category 5 hurricane made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, marking the strongest direct hit the island has ever experienced.
AccuWeather estimates the economic damage between $48-52 billion across the western Caribbean region. The storm devastated areas already recovering from Hurricane Beryl earlier in 2024.
Country-by-Country Impact
Jamaica: The information minister confirmed at least 19 deaths with expectations of more casualties being discovered. Approximately 462,000 residents remain without electricity, and emergency food distribution has commenced. Communications were knocked out in five of Jamaica’s 14 parishes.
Haiti: Despite not suffering a direct hit, torrential rains from the slow-moving system caused at least 31 deaths with 20 people still missing. In Petit-Goave, 23 people including 10 children died when a river overflowed its banks.
“It is a sad moment for the country,” the head of Haiti’s transitional presidential council said. “In addition to the deaths and missing people, there is a lot of material damage: houses have been destroyed, fields flooded, livestock lost and roads cut off.”
Authorities have raised concerns about cholera risks, given the disease’s resurgence in Haiti since 2022 and its spread through contaminated water.
Cuba: No fatalities were reported as of October 31, though Melissa caused extensive damage to infrastructure as a Category 3 hurricane. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated from eastern regions including Santiago de Cuba.
Apocalyptic Destruction
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie described devastating damage in Falmouth, where critical infrastructure including municipal buildings, infirmaries, and courthouses were completely destroyed.
“The situation on the ground is what can only be described as apocalyptic,” World Food Programme Caribbean director Brian Bogart told a press briefing after visiting Black River, near where Melissa made landfall in Jamaica.
“It appears as if a bomb has gone off in that community and people are still in shock.”
Black River resident Pamella Foster returned to find her home completely destroyed, with the roof, windows, and doors torn away and her kitchen swept out to sea. “We will survive,” she stated, “But the pain, it’s like your heart, your stomach just bursts. It’s just too much.”
Climate Context and Aftermath
AccuWeather noted Melissa ranked as the third most intense hurricane ever observed in the Caribbean and the slowest-moving, which compounded damage across affected regions.
Scientists attribute the increasing intensity and frequency of hurricanes to warming ocean waters caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Caribbean leaders continue calling on wealthy nations to provide climate reparations through aid or debt relief.
As of October 31, Melissa had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone with 137km/h winds, moving northeast toward Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
