Hurricane Melissa, dubbed “the storm of the century,” continues its destructive path through the Caribbean. Officials across the region report that at least 30 people have been killed so far.
In Jamaica, where the storm first made landfall on Tuesday, the devastation is widespread. Communities are underwater, roads are blocked, and homes have been destroyed. More than 70 percent of the island remains without power. Hurricane Melissa came ashore with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour — stronger than Hurricane Katrina.
Residents walk through Lacovia Tombstone, Jamaica, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jessica and Shelly Pope, who were vacationing in Jamaica when the storm hit, described the destruction while sheltering at their resort.
“Every inch of the grounds is just decimated,” Jessica said in an interview with CBN’s Faith Nation. “We can’t leave the resort. I don’t know what it’s like outside of here. I imagine it’s just awful.”
The couple said they spent the day after the storm with all of their windows open, trying to air out their flooded third-story room.
“Sandals put all of us in one central building,” Shelly said. “Nobody was on the first floor. Everybody was second floor up. The people on the fourth floor — we were watching the roof blow off like paper.”
The church of Lacovia Tombstone, Jamaica, sits damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Emergency relief flights have begun arriving at Jamaica’s main airport, as crews continue trying to reach isolated communities.
After striking Jamaica, the storm weakened to a Category 2 hurricane but remained powerful as it pounded Cuba and Haiti on Wednesday. In Haiti, authorities report at least 25 deaths, most of them the result of flooding in a southern town. In Cuba, some 700,000 people are currently sheltering in state facilities. Overnight, Melissa moved into the Bahamas. It has since been downgraded to a Category 1 storm and is now headed toward Bermuda.
Relief organizations are preparing to deploy aid. CBN’s Operation Blessing has been packing food, water, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and water purification systems for shipment to Jamaica.
Operation Blessing’s Global Disaster Relief Team is preparing to deploy as soon as conditions allow. Click here to give to the disaster relief effort.
Diego Traverso, Operation Blessing’s Senior Director of Global Disaster Response, said teams are traveling from across the world.
“Our global response team is coming together, traveling from all over the U.S. and beyond, gathering supplies and packing packages for families affected by this horrific, catastrophic hurricane,” Traverso said.
The U.S. military is also sending personnel to help assess damage, and the State Department has deployed dozens of disaster response workers to the region.
