Melissa dissipates, leaves destruction and at least 50 dead in Caribbean

KINGSTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE - Melissa, one of the strongest storms on record to make landfall in the Caribbean, began to dissipate on Oct 31 after sowing devastation across much of Jamaica, cutting off communities in Cuba, drenching Haiti and leaving at least 50 dead.

Melissa was the most powerful storm ever to directly hit Jamaica, and the first major hurricane to do so since 1988. US forecaster AccuWeather estimated US$48 billion to US$52 billion (S$62 billion to S$67 billion) in damage and economic loss across the western Caribbean.

Melissa pounded southwestern Jamaica on Oct 28 as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, well above minimum wind speeds for the strongest hurricane classification, and devastated many areas already battered by 2024’s Hurricane Beryl.

Jamaica’s information minister confirmed at least 19 deaths on Oct 31 but said there were indications more bodies would be recovered. Some 462,000 people remain without power and emergency food distributions have started, she said.

In Haiti, which was not directly hit but suffered days of torrential rains from the slow-moving storm, authorities reported at least 31 deaths and 20 more missing.

At least 23 people, including 10 children, died in Haiti’s southern town of Petit-Goave when a river burst its banks. Roads, houses and farmland were also damaged by the rains.

“It is a sad moment for the country,” the head of Haiti’s transitional presidential council said. “In addition to the deaths and missing people, there is a lot of material damage: houses have been destroyed, fields flooded, livestock lost and roads cut off.” 

Authorities also warned of the risk of cholera, which re-emerged in Haiti in 2022 and spreads through contaminated water.

In Cuba, which Melissa struck as a Category 3 hurricane, no deaths were reported as of Oct 31, though it caused extensive damage to homes, roads and crops. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated from eastern Cuba and around the island’s second-biggest city, Santiago de Cuba.

‘As if a bomb had gone off’

Melissa knocked out communications in five of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, local government minister Desmond McKenzie told a briefing, as he presented an initial assessment of the damage.

“It is not a pretty reading,” he said of the north-western port town of Falmouth: “The municipal building has been destroyed. The infirmary: destroyed. The roads and works department: destroyed. The courthouse: destroyed.”

Flights carrying humanitarian aid began to land in Jamaica on Oct 30, while the country’s military called on reserves to help in relief and rescue efforts.

“The situation on the ground is what can only be described as apocalyptic,” World Food Programme Caribbean director Brian Bogart told a press briefing after visiting Black River, near where Melissa made landfall in Jamaica.

“It appears as if a bomb has gone off in that community and people are still in shock.” 

Ms Pamella Foster, a Black River resident, said she was trying to be strong for her grandchildren after she returned to find her home destroyed, its roof, windows and doors torn away and kitchen swept out to sea. 

“We will survive,” she said. “But the pain, it’s like your heart, your stomach just bursts. It’s just too much.”

US forecaster AccuWeather said Melissa was the third most-intense hurricane observed in the Caribbean, as well as its slowest-moving, compounding the damages across affected areas.

Scientists say hurricanes are intensifying faster, and with greater frequency, as a result of warming ocean waters caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief.

As of 11am on Oct 31 (11pm in Singapore), Melissa was a post-tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 137kmh, heading north-east towards Iceland and the Faroe Islands. REUTERS