Hurricane Melissa kills over two dozen in Caribbean after catastrophic landfalls in Jamaica, Cuba

Name: 'Like a Train': FOX Weather correspondent faces Hurricane Melissa's brutal winds
Uploaded: 2025-10-28T17:22:12-04:00
Duration: 7 min 34 s
Description: FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is facing the intense winds and rain bands from Hurricane Melissa after the major hurricane made landfall in Jamaica.

Melissa now a Category 1 hurricane as it treks across The Bahamas

FOX Weather Meteorologist Ian Oliver provides the latest track and forecast for Hurricane Melissa. The storm has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds and is expected to accelerate northeast across the Atlantic toward Bermuda.

Recovery operations are continuing in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. You can follow continuing coverage by clicking here.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Destructive Hurricane Melissa made its second landfall early Wednesday morning, this time blasting portions of eastern Cuba with damaging winds and flooding rain just hours after devastating Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record.

And as news begins to trickle out of areas hit the hardest by Hurricane Melissa, reports of fatalities are starting to climb. According to reports, the mayor of Petit-Grove in southern Haiti said at least 25 people were killed after a raging river that had been flooded by the hurricane's torrential rain overflowed its banks and sent water flowing into communities.

At least one person was killed in the Dominican Republic and three people were killed in Jamaica as residents in those countries were preparing for the hurricane's arrival.

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Hurricane Melissa made its second landfall just after 3 a.m. ET near Chivirico, Cuba, as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph. The major hurricane immediately began to weaken after striking land again, but forecasters warn that the storm's fury will continue as it spins across the island.

As of Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Melissa had 90 mph winds, making it a Category 1 hurricane. The storm is forecast to accelerate northeast over the next few days.

Wind damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.

(FOX Weather)

The historic hurricane has since moved into the Atlantic and impacts to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and eventually Bermuda are expected. Residents across Jamaica are starting to emerge from their shelters to begin cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of the disaster.

Before slamming into Cuba on Wednesday, millions of people across Jamaica had to endure the catastrophic impacts from Hurricane Melissa as it approached the southwestern coast of the island.

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Watch: Jamaican residents take refuge at police station as Hurricane Melissa lashes region

A video shared by the Jamaica Constabulary Force shows residents seeking shelter at a police station in Black River as Hurricane Melissa was ravaging the region on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, around 1 p.m. Tuesday as a monstrous Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 mph. That makes Melissa the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, and is tied for the strongest landfalling hurricane on record.

Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.

(FOX Weather)

Black River, not far from where landfall occurred, experienced extreme winds from the storm that peeled away roofs and sent debris flying through the air like missiles.

A video shared from the area showed residents taking refuge at a local police station, trying to stay safe as the hurricane was devastating the island.

SEE IT: POWERFUL WINDS RATTLE JAMAICA LIVE CAMERA AS MONSTER CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE MELISSA APPROACHES

Jamaica begins damage assessments after catastrophic hurricane devastates island

Aerial view shows flooding, Hurricane Melissa damage in Montego Bay

Drone video from FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shows extensive flooding at the Montego Bay stadium and the Catherine Hall neighborhood after Hurricane Melissa's Category 5 impacts.

It was no doubt a sleepless night for millions of Jamaicans after the catastrophic hurricane devastated parts of the Caribbean island nation.

And now that the Sun is up, the true scope of the damage left behind can be seen, and recovery operations can begin.

"Today is day one of recovery. And I want to let you know that (Jamaica Public Service Company) will be moving to try and restore power for all lesser affected parishes while they do an assessment by air (Wednesday) of the worst affected areas in Western Jamaica," Jamaica’s Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Transport the Hon. Daryl Vaz said in a video statement on X.

Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.

(FOX Weather)

JPS has received notice to begin power restoration efforts, and Vaz said regular updates on those efforts will be provided starting Wednesday.

As of Wednesday morning, officials said 77 percent of Jamaica was without power.

Flooded homes are seen after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Howard Acres neighbourhood in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica on October 29, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides.

((Photo by Ricardo MAKYN / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Airports in Jamaica were closed ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s arrival, and some damage has been reported.

Vaz said there was no significant damage to Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston after completing an aerial tour and walkthrough on Wednesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica reported that the airports in Kingston and Ocho Rios are expected to reopen Thursday morning at 7 a.m. The airport will be a critical resource for relief supplies in the coming months.

However, significant damage was left at Gates 1-5 at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, according to Vaz. However, he added Gates 8-19 sustained minimal damage and require fewer repairs to function.

Damage at the Montego Bay Airport after Hurricane Melissa on Oct. 29, 2025.

(Daryl Vaz / FOX Weather)

Offers for aid have been coming in from across the region, including the United States.

In a post on X early Wednesday morning, the Department of State said it would deploy a regional Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and activated U.S.-based Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams to help with recovery efforts.

"These teams are working with affected countries and local communities to determine what assistance is needed and with interagency, international and U.S. military partners to coordinate emergency response efforts," officials said in a post on X.

Prior to Hurricane Melissa's landfall, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a disaster area in the wake of the historic storm and renewed an order to prevent price gouging.

On Wednesday morning, Holness announced that Jamaica had been given the all clear.

"Following the guidance from the Meteorological Service of Jamaica and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the Government of Jamaica has issued an all clear for the island," a news release provided by Holness' office read.

Utility companies are now able to begin power restoration efforts, and crews from critical infrastructure like Jamaica Public Service, the National Water Commission and telecommunication providers have been advised to mobilize immediately to begin recovery efforts.

So far, no additional deaths have been reported in Jamaica. But at least three people were killed ahead of the storm, and several injuries were also reported.

"I’m very sad to say that over the past few days in preparation of the storm, we’ve had three deaths," Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, MP, said. "Three deaths linked to cutting down of trees. And in one instance, electrocution because of or due to the cutting down of a tree."

'Like a Train': FOX Weather correspondent faces Hurricane Melissa's brutal winds

FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is facing the intense winds and rain bands from Hurricane Melissa after the major hurricane made landfall in Jamaica.

FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray has been on the ground in Jamaica since last week, covering preparations and the historic landfall on Tuesday.

The morning after the storm, Ray and the FOX Weather crew were making their way to Montego Bay and finding destruction everywhere they went.

"Most of the concrete structures survived, but virtually all have taken some sort of damage. Mainly rooted and water in the homes. The further up the coast you go, the more you see damage to concrete structures," Ray said. "Massive stretch of damage across the 50 or so miles."

He, too, experienced the extreme weather conditions that Hurricane Melissa was producing.

Ray and his team were seeking shelter inside a home in St. Ann Parish, located along the coast in north-central Jamaica.

A video shared by the team showed the moment when Hurricane Melissa’s fierce winds blew out windows, sending shards of glass flying throughout the interior of the structure.

CROCODILES COULD INVADE JAMAICAN NEIGHBORHOODS IN WAKE OF HURRICANE MELISSA FLOODING

As Ray and the team were trying to find a safer spot inside the home, sounds of more glass shattering could be heard, as well as the roar from the winds battering the region outside.

By Tuesday evening, Ray and the FOX Weather crew were facing some of Melissa's worst. Surrounded by horizontal rain and extreme gusts, Ray wore protective gear. He said the rain felt like pellets on his skin and the wind sounded like a train.

"I'm standing in mud, quite literally, right now, and everywhere I look, including the mountainside up there, it's just ripping," Ray said. "I mean, trees are kind of on their sides at this point, and rain is whipping through this community here."

Melissa is the first landfall of a Category 5 hurricane since Hurricane Dorian struck the northwestern Bahamas on Sept. 1, 2019.