On October 21, 2025 a devastating category five hurricane made landfall near the town of New Hope Jamaica. It continued north and hit Cuba as a category three hurricane. When it first formed over the southern Caribbean sea on October 21, scientists observing the hurricane noticed that it skipped a stage called the eyewall replacement cycle that most hurricanes go through when forming. Instead of the eyewall (the most dangerous part of the hurricane that surrounds the eye) temporarily decreasing in strength, it kept the same intensity, causing it to keep gaining strength. This phenomenon is very rare and the last time it was recorded was in 2017 with hurricane Irma which also reached category five.
Melissa was likely more powerful due to climate change, the warmer waters causing it to gain strength as it headed for land. When it hit Jamaica, Melissa had wind speeds of 185 mph making it the third most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. It ended on November 1 and mainly affected Jamaica, Cuba, Bermuda, Haiti, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic.
As hurricane Melissa blew through town after town, it ripped the roofs off of thousands of homes and businesses. Black River Jamaica, a town with a population of about 5000 was the hardest hit with 90% of homes damaged and 90% of the population displaced. Black River also lost important buildings like St. Theresa’s Church, Auglo Senior Living Home, Black River Hospital, and the Waterloo Guesthouse (a historic house that was famous for being the first house to get electricity in Jamaica in 1893). The hurricane left between 600,000 and 700,000 people without power in Jamaica; however some citizens whose houses were not destroyed were able to rely on solar power. Though the death toll is not yet certain, there are 96 confirmed deaths in relation to the hurricane.
With so many people without homes, hospitals and schools are filling up with displaced people who have nowhere else to go. Still some families are forced to live out of their cars. The Black River Hospital is full of people needing medical attention and first responders who have been living in the hospital providing help to citizens even though most of them have lost their own homes. There are still multiple people missing according to the Black River police station which is keeping track of lost persons and incident reports in a station diary. PAHO (The Pan American Health Organization) has sent medical supplies, EMTs, and funds to the countries that were most affected by Hurricane Melissa.
