Category 5 Hurricane Melissa makes historic landfall in Jamaica
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to hit Jamaica since 1851, made landfall Tuesday, bringing catastrophic winds and flood-generating rain.
October 28, 2025 - 02:35 PM ET • 2 min read
Hurricane Melissa, the most intense Atlantic cyclone this season, made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, as a powerful Category 5 storm. The slow-moving hurricane, which struck near the town of Black River in the island's southwest, is the strongest storm recorded to hit Jamaica since record-keeping began in 1851.
The storm brought maximum sustained winds near 295 kilometers per hour (183 to 185 mph), along with torrential rainfall, flash flooding, landslides, and dangerous storm surges, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). The NHC warned that the damage in Jamaica would be catastrophic.
Melissa is the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Experts have predicted that the resulting damage could potentially rival that caused by Hurricane Katrina. One official noted that "There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a category 5."
Jamaica's government, which had issued a mandatory evacuation order for low-lying areas, warned of severe impact for the nation's 2.8 million people. Desmond McKenzie, deputy chair of Jamaica's disaster risk management council, urged residents to seek shelter immediately.
"Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave," McKenzie said on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for residents to stay indoors as the storm crosses the island.
Despite evacuation orders, many families were reported to be sheltering in place, according to aid advisers based near the capital, Kingston. Reports indicated widespread fear among residents of losing homes and livelihoods. Footage from Kingston showed streets largely empty, with trees bent severely by the force of the wind.
Before the storm's landfall, the island was already experiencing significant infrastructure failures. Transport and Energy Minister Darryl Vaz reported that more than 240,000 people were without power, and approximately one-fourth of the telecommunications system was offline.
Forecasters noted that the slow-moving nature of Melissa means it is expected to linger over the mountainous island for several hours, prolonging the period of extreme wind and rain.
The NHC projects that Melissa will maintain its extreme intensity before crossing the southeast of Cuba on Wednesday. The storm is then expected to continue its track northeast, reaching the Bahamas by Thursday. The government has warned that the storm's intensity and slow movement pose a severe threat to the entire island nation.