Hurricane Melissa kills 25 more people after river bank burst

The death toll from Hurricane Melissa is rapidly increasing after Haitian officials announced at least 25 people were killed when a river overflowed during the storm.

Jean Bertrand Subrème, mayor of the southern Haitian coastal town of Petit-Goâve, told The Associated Press that 25 people died after La Digue river burst its banks and flooded nearby homes.

‘I am overwhelmed by the situation,’ he said, noting that dozens of homes collapsed and people are still trapped in the rubble.

JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes enjoyed their first official holiday together as a couple as they stayed at the lavish Sandals Royal Bahamian resort despite Hurricane Melissa heading to the country.

The popular city of Montego Bay, Jamaica, has been split in two by floodwaters, according to mayor Richard Vernon.

‘Once the wind subsided, we started to get a lot of heavy rain and that has led to massive floods right across the city,’ he told BBC.

‘One side of the city is now cut off from the other due to roads being inundated by flood water.’

Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Center, warned that Melissa is growing.

‘The storm is growing in size,’ he said, adding that Melissa’s winds are extending almost 200 miles from the center. ‘People should be in their safe shelter.’

Hurricane Melissa is forecast to move through southeastern Bahamas later Wednesday, generating up to 7 feet of storm surge in the area.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on social media that Wednesday morning has been ‘very complex.’

‘Considerable damage, and the hurricane #Melissa is still over Cuban territory,’ he said.

‘I ask our people not to let their guard down, to maintain discipline and continue well protected. As soon as conditions allow, we will proceed to recovery. We are ready.’

Desmond McKenzie, Minister for Local Government and Community Development, said that Jamaica is ‘not in a position to make an official statement on deaths.’

‘We have not had alerts of any deaths so far. So we cannot presume that there are deaths,’ he said.

The Miami Heat announced that, in partnership with the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation and Carnival Cruise Line, it would donate $1 million to recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank also announced through his foundation that he is donating $1.5 million to World Central Kitchen and $1 million to Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization, to help those impacted by the storm.

‘While the road ahead will be long, our hearts are with those affected, and we hope our support brings comfort and strength along the way,’ Blank said.

Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister, said Hurricane Melissa knocked out power to 77 percent of the country, according to The New York Times.

‘I know so many people have said they cannot reach their families in western Jamaica. That’s because of damage to the telecoms infrastructure,’ she said.

‘We know that it’s western Jamaica that has the brunt of the impact. We will have to give you that in the coming days,’ she said, adding that Central Jamaica had ‘a lot of damage, a lot of flooding.’

FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross told the Daily Mail that Jamaica is still under threat from Hurricane Melissa’s aftermath.

‘Devastation in Jamaica is widespread from the wind, torrential rain, and the storm surge – the Caribbean water pushed over the shoreline and into communities along the coast,’ Norcross said.

‘The flood threat continues as rainwater that fell on the mountains channels into rivers and streams as it flows toward the Caribbean.’

Norcross also noted the storm is bound for the Bahamas and Bermuda with dangerous winds.

‘Melissa passed over eastern Cuba this morning with winds of over 100 mph. The Southeastern Bahamas are the next in line,’ he said.

‘The hurricane is forecast to slowly weaken, but some Bahamian islands could experience high-end Category 2 winds of about 110 mph this afternoon and this evening.

‘By late tonight, Melissa will be heading out to sea. Bermuda will get at least a side swipe late tomorrow or early Friday.’

Hurricane Melissa is now offshore of east Cuba, and is moving towards the Bahamas and Bermuda, according to the 11am ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

The Meteorological Service of Bermuda has issued a Hurricane Warning for the island as Melissa is forecast to bring damaging winds and floods.

‘Bermuda preparations should be underway and be completed before anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous,’ the center said.

Hurricane Melissa caused a roof in the waiting lounge of Sangster International Airport in Jamaica’s Montego Bay to collapse as water flowed underneath the seats.

The airport has been temporarily closed since Sunday as the island nation braced for the devastating storm.

Cuban families surveyed the damage of Hurricane Melissa in the Santiago de Cuba province on Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, according to the agency.

The center forecasted that Turks and Caicos could receive rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches, and large swells generated by Melissa may cause ‘life-threatening surf and rip current conditions’ off the islands.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has told the nation that Melissa remains a threat across the island today.

In his latest bulletin, Mr Holness said ‘intense rainbands associated with Melissa’ were still passing over Jamaica which may result in Tropical Storm conditions.

In his update, he said that ‘ongoing catastrophic flash flooding’ ‘numerous landslide and ‘large and destructive waves’ will continue today and into tonight.

Although damaging winds are gradually subsiding across Jamaica, Tropical Storm force wind conditions will persist over sections of northern parishes, while strong, gusty winds, at times reaching gale force, may still occur over some southern parishes.

Hurricane Melissa is causing river levels to rise and cutting off around 140,000 people, according to the Cuban government.

‘A total of 241 communities – home to over 140,000 people – are reported to be cut off,’ the government said in a statement to CNN.

Roads have been blocked in Contramaestre, north of where Melissa made landfall, while communities in Guaninao and Ruta Martina are isolated, according to the outlet.

The National Hurricane Center warned that although Jamaica discontinued its tropical storm warning, the island could still see effects from the weather.

‘Melissa is expected to bring an additional 3 to 6 inches across Jamaica, where storm total amounts will be between 12 to 24 inches,’ the center said.

‘Isolated areas near 30 inches will be possible over mountainous terrain. Ongoing catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides will continue today and into tonight.’

Additionally, the center said that swells generated by Melissa will continue to affect portions of Hispaniola, Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and the Cayman Islands during
the next day or so, causing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 2 storm, according to the 8am ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane categories range from 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and are ranked by their sustained wind speed.

Melissa has a maximum sustained wind speed of 105mph, putting it firmly in the 2 category, which ranges from 96-110mph.

Footage has emerged from the eye of Hurricane Melissa after a specially adapted plane operated by the US Air Force hurricane hunters flew into the center of the storm.

Hurricane Melissa was the strongest to hit Jamaica in the island’s modern history.

The storm’s 185 mph (295 kph) winds and 892 millibars of central pressure tied two records for the strongest Atlantic storm on landfall.

The pressure – the key measurement meteorologists use – tied 1935’s Labor Day hurricane in Florida, while wind speed tied a 1935 hurricane and 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, said hurricane scientists Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University and Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami.

Jamaica’s top police officer is taking part in recovery work this morning as the nation realises the full scale of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa.

Dr Kevin Blake, Commissioner of Jamaica Constabulary Force, was filmed clearing trees from police HQ in Kingston.

The force tweeted:

Commissioner of Police, Dr Kevin Blake, is leading from the front, helping to clear fallen trees from the driveway here at Headquarters. The Commissioner will get a firsthand look at the damage sustained and help chart the way forward.

It comes as Jamaican officials assess the full extent of damage caused by Melissa – the most powerful hurricane to ever strike the island.

Jamaican officials have confirmed that at least one person was killed as Hurricane Melissa ripped through the island.

A tree fell on an infant and killed the baby, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, a state minister in the prime minister’s office, told local radio station Nationwide News Network.

Fitz-Henley said most of the destruction is concentrated in Jamaica’s southwest and northwest regions, according to the Associated Press.

‘Take heart. It could have been worse,’ he said. ‘I know people have suffered significant devastation.’

‘We are aware of the dire straits which you find yourselves in this morning. We are moving quickly.’

The death toll from Hurricane Melissa has now risen to eight, with four killed in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

TikTok user Jourdain, who goes by the username @travelwithjourdain , has been documenting her time at a Sandals Resort in Jamaica’s South Coast as Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 storm.

Her posts received backlash, with many people bashing her for traveling to Jamaica in the first place as the storm headed towards the island.

Jamaica has been declared a ‘disaster area’ after Hurricane Melissa wreaked havoc on the island leaving a trail of destruction.

Entire towns have been left underwater and tens of thousands of tourists remain trapped after Melissa, the most powerful storm in the Caribbean’s modern history, tore into the nation yesterday.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the island was a ‘disaster area’ as he seeks to ‘prevent any exploitation at a time when citizens are securing food, water and supplies’ in the midst of the tragedy.

The hurricane, which had top sustained wind speeds of 115 mph as it made its second landfall, is now expected to track towards the northeast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Melissa will strike southeastern or central Bahamas as a strong Category 2 storm Wednesday, bringing a dangerous storm surge and strong gales.

The Bahamas could be pummeled with up to 10 inches of rain, which forecasters warn could trigger flash floods and landslides.

By Wednesday evening, Melissa is expected to continue northeast, accelerating over the open Atlantic Ocean, and strike Bermuda as a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday.

Pope Leo offered his thoughts and prayers for those impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

‘In recent days, Hurricane Melissa has struck Jamaica, a storm of catastrophic force that is causing severe flooding. At this very hour, it is crossing Cuba with devastating force. Thousands of people have been displaced, and homes, infrastructure, and several hospitals have been damaged,’ he said.

‘I assure everyone of my closeness, praying for those who have lost their lives, for those who are fleeing, and for those communities who, as they await the storm’s developments, are living through hours of anxiety and worry. I encourage the civil authorities to do everything possible. And I thank the Christian communities, together with volunteer organizations, for the assistance they are providing.’

Hurricane Melissa was moving across Cuba on Wednesday.

Authorities in Cuba had evacuated more than 735,000 people, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said.

Forecasters warned the storm would cause catastrophic damage in Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second-largest city, and nearby areas.

Hurricane Melissa pummeled Cuba early Wednesday after leaving a path of destruction across Jamaica, where 25,000 tourists remain stranded and entire towns were under water.

The ‘storm of the century’ could take days or even weeks to recover in the worst-hit parts of Jamaica, with landslides and fallen trees and power lines making it difficult for rescue crews to access some flood-ravaged regions.

Meanwhile in Cuba, as many as 735,000 residents heeded warnings from the nation’s president and emergency response crews as they fled their homes along the coast and mountainous regions in the path of the storm ahead of its arrival on Wednesday.

The US State Department announced it has deployed a regional Disaster Assistance Response Team and activated US-based Urban Search and Rescue teams to bolster response efforts.

‘These teams are working with affected countries and local communities to determine what assistance is needed and with interagency, international and US military partners to coordinate emergency response efforts,’ the department said.

Speaking with reporters onboard Air Force One as he finishes his visit to Asia, Donald Trump said he is prepared to offer assistance to Jamaica when cleanup efforts begin and the monumental task of rebuilding begins.

‘On a humanitarian basis, we have to, so we’re watching it closely,’ he said.

‘We’re prepared to move. It’s doing tremendous damages as we speak.’

Trump also marveled at the storm’s strength. It was a Category 5 when it made landfall in Jamaica – the worst the island has ever seen.

‘I’ve never seen that before. I guess it can get that high, but I’ve never seen it,’ he said.

Desmond McKenzie, Minister for Local Government and Community Development, said Jamaica ‘is not in a position to make an official statement on deaths.’

‘We have not had alerts of any deaths so far. So we cannot presume that there are deaths,’ he said.