Hurricane Melissa live updates: No official death toll in Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica.

ByJack Moore, David Brennan, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: October 30, 2025, 10:54 PM EDT

Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica after the storm made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.

After lashing Jamaica with dangerous winds and flooding rain, Melissa made a second landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning. Melissa then moved through the Bahamas, and next, on Thursday night, the storm will pass Bermuda as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Oct 28, 2025, 5:31 PM EDT

Melissa moving off northwest coast of Jamaica

The center of Melissa is now moving off the northwest coast of Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds currently at 145 mph.

The center is currently located about 15 miles east of Montego Bay.

Strong, damaging winds, catastrophic flash flooding and life-threatening storm surge continue to hit parts of the island nation.

People walk along a road during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Rocky Point, Jamaica, Oct. 28, 2025.
Matias Delacroix/AP

The core of Melissa is expected to move away from western Jamaica on Tuesday evening, moving back over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea as it closes in on southeastern Cuba next.

Melissa is forecast to make a second landfall later Tuesday night along the coast of southeastern Cuba, west of Guantanamo Bay, potentially re-strengthening a bit as it moves across warm water again over the next several hours.

-ABC News' Dan Peck

Oct 28, 2025, 5:28 PM EDT

Hospital in southwestern Jamaica severely damaged

Black River Hospital, located on the southwestern coast of Jamaica, has sustained severe damage and service has been disrupted due to Hurricane Melissa, health officials said.

"Despite the disruption, members of the health team are working tirelessly to ensure the continued care and safety of all patients, with efforts underway to restore full functionality," the Jamaican health ministry said.

Oct 28, 2025, 5:07 PM EDT

Cuba's president urges mass movement to shelters

The president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, urged residents to move to shelters ahead of Hurricane Melissa, which is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba overnight.

“We want to stress again how big this event is and the need for people to understand the risk it poses because of its scale," Diaz-Canel said in a statement. "Wind speeds above 260 kilometers per hour can destroy any facility that is not properly prepared. So we are once again asking everyone to use the time left before the hurricane arrives to move to safe areas to face this hurricane."

A soldier helps evacuate an elderly woman to a secure location ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa at Siboney beach, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, October 28, 2025.
Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images

Oct 28, 2025, 4:26 PM EDT

Melissa now a Category 4 hurricane

Melissa is now a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds decreased to 150 mph, but it remains an extremely dangerous storm as it sweeps across western Jamaica.

The center is currently located about 10 miles south of Montego Bay, as the storm is moving to the north-northeast at 8 mph.

A house and fence are damaged by Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, October 28, 2025.
Rudolph Brown/EPA/Shutterstock

Catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge continue to hit parts of the island nation.

Melissa is expected to reemerge off the northern coast of Jamaica over the next couple of hours, then head toward eastern Cuba next.

-ABC News' Dan Peck

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