Topline
Typhoon Melissa struck Jamaica early Tuesday afternoon with approximated leading continual winds of 185 miles per hour, making landfall in the southwestern part of the island as one of the most effective storms on record in the Atlantic basin.
Typhoon Melissa approaches Jamaica on Tuesday.
Associated Press
Timeline
More than 530,000 Jamaicans lacked power since Tuesday night, according to several outlets, keeping in mind about 15,000 individuals in the nation remain in shelters.
The National Typhoon Center cautioned about significant flash flooding, landslides and strong winds in Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Eastern Cuba as the latter nation braced for the Classification 4 cyclone Tuesday night.
Melissa was devalued to a Classification 4 cyclone, the National Typhoon Center stated, with optimum wind speeds of 150 miles per hour.
The center of the storm was reported as simply 10 miles south of Montego Bay, among Jamaica’s biggest cities.
Conditions in Jamaica stay “exceptionally harmful and deadly” as the storm stays above the island, authorities stated, alerting citizens to stay in shelter.
Richard Solomon, the mayor of St. Elizabeth Parish’s capital of Black River, stated “things were degrading by the minute” in his town.
In a tv interview right before the storm made landfall, Solomon stated he was stressed over the southern coast, which was formerly harmed by Typhoon Beryl in 2024.
” Truthfully, I believe we are going to be struck hard, and I believe the whole parish will be badly harmed,” Solomon stated.
Typhoon Melissa stayed at Classification 5 strength, with optimal continual winds of 160 miles per hour, regardless of passing over mountainous surface and being inland for around 2 hours, according to a National Typhoon Center upgrade.
The storm was crawling throughout the island at a speed of just 8 miles per hour, forecasters stated, while “disastrous” flooding, winds and storm rises stay continuous.
Jamaica’s South East Regional Health Authority cautioned citizens that increasing water levels might require crocodiles out of their normal variety to look for greater ground in suburbs, regional outlets on the island reported.
Starlink will be totally free for individuals affected by Typhoon Melissa in Jamaica and the Bahamas through completion of November, the satellite web company owned by SpaceX stated Tuesday afternoon, as the storm threatens interaction and facilities in Jamaica.
Melissa made landfall as a Classification 5 storm near New Hope in St. Elizabeth Parish in southwestern Jamaica, the National Typhoon Center stated.
Melissa was still sustaining wind speeds of 185 miles per hour when it made landfall.
Wind gusts might reach even greater speeds over 200 miles per hour in Jamaica’s mountains, National Typhoon Center Director Michael Brennan stated in an earlier upgrade.
More than 200,000 individuals were put under evacuation orders in eastern Cuba, the Associated Press reported.
Melissa might bring 15-30 inches of rains to Jamaica, the National Typhoon Center stated, while the storm rise might rise to 13 feet above ground level locations near to where the storm makes landfall.
Power is out for about 240,000 consumers, or 35% of all consumers of the nation’s energy business Jamaica Civil service, Daryl Paz, Jamaica’s Minister for Energy, Science, Telecom and Transportation stated at an interview.
Typhoon Melissa’s eyewall started approaching the coast of Jamaica, and authorities cautioned this was the last possibility for citizens to discover shelter as wind speeds are anticipated to increase rapidly after the eye passes.
Wind speeds reinforced to 185 miles per hour, connecting the record for the second-strongest Atlantic cyclone on record (the greatest was Typhoon Allen in 1980, which sustained accelerate to 190 miles per hour).
Typhoon Melissa’s eye is anticipated to reach Jamaica in the “next couple of hours,” the National Typhoon Center stated in an upgrade, alerting citizens to stay protected while the storm passes.
Melissa is now sustaining wind speeds of as much as 180 miles per hour, forecasters stated.
Waves crash on the shoreline of Kingston, Jamaica as Typhoon Melissa approaches the island on Tuesday early morning.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights booked
An individual strolls on a deserted in Kingston, Jamaica as Typhoon Melissa methods.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights booked
How Does Melissa Compare To Other Storms?
Melissa is currently among the most effective storms to make landfall in documented history. Just 2 others made landfall while sustaining 185 miles per hour wind speeds– the Labor Day Typhoon of 1935, which struck Florida, and Typhoon Dorian, which struck the Bahamas in 2019. Just one cyclone has actually ever sustained greater wind speeds– Typhoon Allen in 1980. Typhoon Allen’s wind speed reached 190 miles per hour, however the storm compromised with wind speeds dropping to 115 miles per hour before it made landfall. After making landfall, Melissa’s pressure was likewise taped at 892 millibars. Lower pressure indicates greater storm strength, and just 2 cyclones have actually taped lower pressure levels in history in the Atlantic basin.
Secret Background
Melissa formed as a hurricane in the Caribbean on Tuesday, October 21 before reinforcing into a typhoon on Saturday. Melissa is set to end up being the greatest cyclone Jamaica has actually ever seen because record keeping started, the Associated Press reported. “For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure” Anne-Claire Fontan, a hurricane expert at the World Meteorological Company, informed press reporters at a press instruction, identifying the upcoming storm a “disastrous scenario” for the island country. Forecasters at the NHC cautioned Jamaicans to look for shelter, forecasting flash flooding, landslides, devastating winds and deadly storm rise on Jamaica’s coast. These conditions might harm facilities, isolate neighborhoods on the island and cut off power and interactions on the island. “Overall structural failure is possible near the course of Melissa’s center,” the NHC included.
Where Else Will Melissa Strike?
Forecasters at the National Typhoon Center anticipate Melissa to move northeast, passing eastern Cuba and Hispaniola. Flash flooding and landslides are anticipated in Haiti through today, which might possibly separate neighborhoods in the Caribbean country. The southern Dominican Republic might likewise see comparable conditions, the NHS cautioned. Forecasters are anticipating comparable rains, flash flooding, destructive winds and landslides in eastern Cuba, along with a lethal storm rise. The storm is anticipated to move towards the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday.
Source: Forbes.
