Communities throughout the Caribbean are reeling within the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which ripped via Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola, the island comprising Haiti and the Dominican Republic, this week.
Whereas officers mentioned that injury assessments remained underway to find out the complete scope of the destruction, satellite tv for pc photos supplied a preliminary have a look at among the storm’s grave impacts on stretches of the Jamaican shoreline.
Aspect-by-side aerial images present the southwestern Jamaican fishing village of White Home and the close by city of Black River earlier than and after Melissa slammed into the island. Every pair captures a as soon as vibrant-looking city diminished to dust and rubble.
Satellite tv for pc photos present a fishing village in White Home, Jamaica, and the close by city of Black River earlier than and after Hurricane Melissa made landfall alongside the southwestern a part of the island on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Satellite tv for pc picture © 2025 Vantor/Handout by way of REUTERS
Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday — its first landfall of a number of — as an especially highly effective Class 5 hurricane. It was the strongest storm to hit Jamaica within the island’s record-keeping historical past, along with one of many strongest ever recorded within the Atlantic Ocean. That was on account of its winds and stress, that are two major markers of depth.
The hurricane’s most winds had reached a formidable 185 mph when it collided with the southwestern coast of Jamaica, close to the city of New Hope. Though their pace dipped considerably within the hours after landfall, Melissa’s winds remained properly above the 157-mph threshold that the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale units to find out the minimal standards for a Class 5 storm.
A satellite tv for pc picture reveals the Barnett River alongside Montego Bay within the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, October 29, 2025.
Satellite tv for pc picture © 2025 Vantor/Handout by way of REUTERS
No less than 4 folks died in Jamaica on account of the storm, mentioned Desmond McKenzie, a minister of native authorities, in an announcement launched Wednesday. McKenzie mentioned police discovered their our bodies washed up by flood waters and decided that every one 4 had been “by all indications, direct victims of the Hurricane.”
Greater than 25,000 folks had been nonetheless crowded in shelters on the island on Wednesday, after the storm briefly displaced some residents and left others homeless.
Within the high row, farmlands in Santa Cruz, Jamaica, are pictured earlier than and after Hurricane Melissa, with the latter picture displaying the land flooded with muddy water. Within the backside row, one other before-and-after pairing of New Hope, the coastal city close to the placement the place Melissa got here ashore.
Satellite tv for pc picture (c) 2025 Vantor/Getty Photographs
Outdoors of Jamaica, authorities have confirmed no less than 23 deaths in Haiti and no less than one loss of life within the Dominican Republic on account of the hurricane. The storm was transferring away from the Bahamas on Thursday morning and headed towards Bermuda, in line with the Nationwide Hurricane Heart.
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