Hurricane Melissa Lashes Cuba with 120mph Winds
BBC News
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Hurricane Melissa hits Cuba, bringing 115mph winds and heavy rain, after crossing Jamaica as the strongest storm to hit the country in modern history
In Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness declares a "disaster area" and warns of "devastating impacts"
The extent of the damage in Jamaica will not begin to become clear until daybreak – but Holness warns of damage to homes and hospitals
The mayor of Montego Bay tells the BBC the first thing they will do is "check if everybody is alive"
The normal soundtrack that accompanies Jamaican life is silent, writes the BBC's Nick Davis from Kingston
After hitting Cuba, the hurricane will move north-east towards the Bahamas and Bermuda
Are you in the path of the hurricane? Get in touch via email, external or WhatsApp +44 7756 165803, external
Edited by Tiffany Wertheimer and Matt Spivey, with reporting from Nick Davis in Jamaica
Simon King
Presenter and meteorologist, BBC Weather
Since making landfall near the city of Chivirico in south-east Cuba, Melissa has been moving north-east over eastern Cuba.
As a result of the rugged Cuban terrain and after encountering some drier air and wind shear – meaning changes in wind speed and direction with height – Melissa has been weakening slightly.
But with winds of 115mph, it still remains a category 3 hurricane and continues to bring damaging winds and dangerous conditions.
It will move back out to sea by around 08:00 local time.
Hurricane Melissa has been slow moving, travelling at 5mph, which is roughly walking pace – particularly during its intensification to category 5 before hitting Jamaica.
It has now picked up some forward speed and is travelling at 10-15mph, which is more typical for a hurricane.
The hurricane will pass through the central Bahamas later before tracking close to Bermuda late on Thursday, as a category 1 hurricane.
Nick Davis
Reporting from Kingston, Jamaica
The normal soundtrack that accompanies Jamaican life is silent because many people don't have electricity.
About three-quarters of the island is without power, and many parts of the western side of the island are either under water or have homes destroyed by the strong winds.
We don't know anything about casualties yet, as one of the main things you need to get up and running during a disaster is telecoms.
The storm has put real pressure on the phone systems, as many telephone polls and cell towers have come down.
The government is trying to put in place a plan to use satellite communication to improve their own communication on the ground. It is going to take physical assessments, helicopters going out, to assess what's needed.
It is expected that the airport here in Kingston is going to be up and operational to receive relief flights – but Montego Bay, one of the island's main tourist destinations, is a mess.
Jamaica has a catastrophe bond (a type of insurance for the country), which will hopefully allow people to get back on their feet – but the issue is what's done in the interim.
The average person here does not have the average safety net that you see in more economically developed countries.
A satellite image taken shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica
Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a category five hurricane on Tuesday, making it the strongest to hit the island in modern history.
A category five hurricane – the strongest on the scale – is one which meets the wind speed threshold of 157mph (252 km/h) or higher.
Hurricane Melissa's estimated maximum sustained wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h) were well above that threshold as it made landfall.
It weakened as it passed over Jamaica, eventually dropping to a category three when it made landfall in Cuba.
A category three hurricane is defined by the National Hurricane Center as a "major" hurricane that can cause "devastating damage".
The strongest storm to directly hit Jamaica before Melissa was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which made landfall as a category four hurricane, according to the US National Weather Service.
Santiago de Cuba, pictured yesterday, is the largest city in the east of the country
Damaging winds and heavy rain have hit eastern Cuba, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
Flooding and dangerous storm surges caused by Hurricane Melissa are expected to hit the region, it says.
The storm is generating wind speeds of 115mph (185km/h), but travelling at just 12mph (19km/h) – that means it is staying over areas with these powerful winds for longer, potentially causing even more damage.
The epicentre of the hurricane is passing over Cuba at the opposite end of the island to Havana, the capital city.
The eastern region's largest cities include Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo – where hurricane warnings are in effect.
As Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Cuba, we're looking to speak to people who have been impacted by the hurricane or those who are worried for their loved ones.
If it is safe to do so, you can get in touch with us in the following ways:
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Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in Cuba. The category three hurricane is hitting the south east coast of the country with sustained winds of 120mph.
In Jamaica, which was battered by the then category five hurricane yesterday, locals are waiting for daylight to assess the damage.
After hitting Cuba, the hurricane is expected to weaken as it moves north-east towards the Bahamas and Bermuda.
And in Haiti, to the east of Cuba, people have been seeking shelter in buildings such as schools. It is not thought that the eye of the hurricane will pass over Haiti.
Here's a look at the path of the hurricane, which is expected to travel away from the Caribbean islands later this evening.
A flooded street in the city of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on Tuesday
As we've been reporting, Melissa has made landfall in Cuba as a category three hurricane – yesterday it hit Jamaica as a category five.
The assessments of strength and location come from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
It uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, where a category one is the weakest, and category five is the strongest.
The categories are defined by the hurricane's maximum sustained wind speed – although individual gusts can be stronger.
For a category one the range is 74-95 mph (119-153 km/h), for a three it's 111-129 mph (178-208 km/h), and a five has a maximum sustained wind speed of 157mph (252 km/h) or higher.
As a reminder, the NHC said there were sustained winds of 120mph when Melissa made landfall in Cuba in the past hour.
Cuba
Jamaica
A woman walks in a street before Hurricane Melissa hits the city of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on Tuesday
We've heard this morning from Wayne Gibson, a British tourist who's on holiday in Ochos Rios, on the north coast of Jamaica, with his wife and two teenage daughters.
He tells Radio 4's Today programme they have been sheltering in his hotel, with the wind and rain still "very very intense".
"The rain is lashing on the big glass panels which is unnerving and unsettling," he says.
The hotel will not allow the guests to go to their rooms, and are being told to stay in the communal shelter for their safety, he adds.
"We are tired – but we can't forget those in a worse position than us."
A flooded street in Kingston, as seen on Tuesday evening
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The BBC's Nick Davis has just sent this report from Kingston, Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Cuba as a category three storm, the US National Hurricane Center says.
"Sustained" winds up to 120mph (193km/h) are hitting the southern coast of the country.
The mayor of Montego Bay says one half of the city in north-west Jamaica has been cut off from the other by flood waters.
"It has been a very long wait for this storm and it has been a very long day for us battling through the storm," Richard Vernon tells BBC Breakfast.
He says attention is now turning to dealing with the impact – although they are still expecting storm surges.
Heavy rain has led to "massive floods right across the city of Montego Bay", he says, but already there have been reports that the flood water is receding.
It's currently the middle of the night in Jamaica and more information is expected in the morning.
The first thing they have to do now is "check if everybody is alive", he says – adding they haven't had any reports of casualties or deaths so far.Simon King
Presenter and meteorologist, BBC Weather
Hurricane Melissa is about to hit eastern Cuba
After making landfall in Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record in the Atlantic, Melissa started to weaken.
The energy from the warm waters of the Caribbean was cut off as it moved north-eastward across the island bringing the destructive winds and flooding rains.
Once the centre of Melissa cleared the north coast of Jamaica overnight, its energy source of the warm waters led the storm to re-intensify back up to a major category 4 hurricane with a well-defined eye.
Making its second landfall in south-east Cuba as a category 3 with sustained wind speeds of 125mph, it will be one of the most powerful storms to hit the Island since Irma in 2017.
Melissa will then weaken further but also pick up some speed as it tracks north-eastward, crossing the Bahamas later today and then towards Bermuda on Thursday, still retaining its strength as a category 1 hurricane.
Debris seen on Tuesday evening in Kingston, Jamaica
It's currently 01:30 in the morning Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa has passed over the island, but the damage will not begin to become clear until daybreak.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday declared the island a "disaster area", and warned of "devastating impacts"
"Reports that we have had so far would include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well," Holness said last night.
Holness posted this image last night, declaring the island a "disaster area"
As we've just reported, Hurricane Melissa is about to hit Cuba, after passing through Jamaica.
In Haiti – to the east of Cuba – people are spending the night in shelters as wind and rains batters the country.
It is now nighttime in Haiti, where a tropical storm warning is in place – these people are sheltering in a school building
Shelter was found beneath chalk boards in Les Cayes
In its latest advisory, the National Hurricane Center says Melissa has weakened slightly to a category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h).
Melissa is expected to remain a powerful hurricane when it moves across Cuba and the Bahamas and passes near Bermuda, it says.
The National Hurricane Center has just confirmed on X that Melissa will make landfall in Cuba soon "as an Extremely Dangerous Major Hurricane".
Here are the latest developments as Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Cuba after battering Jamaica.
We're expecting another update from the NHC soon, so stay with us for all the latest details.
The Jamaican government has launched a website to mobilise support and coordinate relief efforts as the island reckons with the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa.
Dana Morris Dixon, the Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, says the site will be the official platform to donate money and urged the public to be wary of other entities asking for donations.
"We have already been made aware of some nefarious individuals trying to collect money on behalf of Jamaica. We remind you that this will be the official site," she said.
Dixon added that the platform would also allow people to provide updates on emergencies and locate shelters and resources.
Will Grant
BBC News, Caribbean Correspondent
Hurricane Melissa has now passed over Jamaica leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The authorities are trying to establish a full picture of the impact but with power cut off to much of the country, information remains patchy.
It is now nighttime in the country. Once day breaks on the island, the extent of the damage beyond those initial reports will start to become clearer. However, the main airport in the capital, Kingston, may remain closed for another day before aid flights can begin to land.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Melissa has continued north, affecting eastern Cuba and western Haiti. With both nations in the middle of complex economic and humanitarian crises, this vast storm could cause further catastrophic damage and loss of life in Caribbean countries particularly ill-equipped to cope.
A satellite view shows Hurricane Melissa crossing Jamaica in satellite image
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