Dominican Republic Hurricane Melissa gains strength and threatens Jamaica
Hurricane "Melissa" is rapidly gaining strength over the Caribbean and is approaching Jamaica as the second-highest category 4 hurricane. With sustained wind speeds of 220 kilometers per hour, the tropical storm is slowly moving west, according to the US hurricane center in Miami. According to the meteorologists' forecast, "Melissa" is expected to make landfall as a dangerous hurricane in Jamaica on Monday night and in the south-east of Cuba during the course of Tuesday.
26.10.2025, 14:00
SDA
The center issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica. Life-threatening flooding and landslides are expected on the Caribbean island. Three people have already died in Haiti after heavy rain, and one person was also killed in the Dominican Republic.
The head of the Jamaican weather service, Evan Thompson, warned of one of the heaviest storms in recent decades. Because "Melissa" will hit Jamaica directly and only move forward slowly, the meteorologist expects extremely high rainfall and severe damage. "We have not experienced this before, so it is important that we consider this an exceptional situation," he said, according to a report in the Jamaica Observer newspaper.
Jamaica's head of government Andrew Holness called on the population to stay at home if possible and follow the instructions of the authorities. The airport in the capital Kingston was closed. The civil defense set up almost 900 emergency shelters.
