The latest storm news on the morning of October 29 said that super typhoon Melissa made landfall at around 1:00 p.m. on October 28, local time, near New Hope, Jamaica with terrible devastation of level 5.
Winds of 298 km/h made Melissa the strongest storm ever to hit Jamaica. Melissa was also one of the strongest storms to ever hit the Atlantic basin, equivalent to two other storms - Dorian in 2019 and Labor Day in 1935.
Melissa is the strongest storm to hit any part of the Atlantic basin since Dorian in 2019. The Dorian has winds of up to 298 km/h as it makes landfall in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas.
Previously, the strongest storm to hit Jamaica was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Gilbert is a Category 4 hurricane as it makes landfall west of Kingston.
After interacting with the Jamaica mainland, cut off from warm ocean waters to maintain intensity, Meliss has dropped to Category 4, with winds of 235 km/h.
After sweeping Jamaica, Melissa is forecast to make landfall in southeastern Cuba in the next few hours, as a Category 4 or Category 3 storm.
Forecasters warn that Cuba is expected to see 500-760mm of rainfall, which could cause life-threatening flash floods and landslides, with winds of 210 to 225 km/h near the storm's eye when it makes landfall and water levels rising to 3.6m.
Before making its first landfall in Jamaica at Category 5 intensity, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) hurricane expert Anne-Claire Fonta said: "This is definitely the storm of the century for Jamaica."
Melissa has continuously maintained the severe intensity indicator. The Atlantic storm No. 13 has maintained its Category 5 intensity for more than 24 hours. This is a record not achieved by many other storms in the Atlantic basin.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has two other Category 5 hurricanes, Humberto and Erin. Both storms have maintained their peak intensity for less than 12 hours. Last year, Hurricanes Milton and Beryl reached Category 5, but only maintained this intensity for 18 hours and 12 hours. In 2023, the only Category 5 storm, Lee, maintained its peak intensity for less than 12 hours.
