‘Difficult night for all’: Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Cuba, 735,000 evacuated
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Difficult night for all’: Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Cuba, 735,000 evacuated")
A woman walks in a street before Hurricane Melissa hits the city of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba on October 28, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
The hurricane hit with maximum sustained winds of approximately 120 mph (195 kmph), the NHC said.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba on early Wednesday (Oct 29) after leaving a trail of destruction across Jamaica, which has been designated a “disaster area” by authorities. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) described the Atlantic storm as an “extremely dangerous hurricane”. The storm had weakened to Category 3 from Category 5 as it struck Santiago de Cuba province on the island’s southern coast.
The hurricane hit with maximum sustained winds of approximately 120 mph (195 kmph), the NHC said. Local authorities have declared a “state of alert” in six eastern provinces of the country as residents fled the coast. Haiti authorities ordered the closure of schools, businesses and government offices on Wednesday. About 735,000 people have been evacuated, as per authorities.
In a post on X, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said, “We have just checked with the provinces the measures in the face of the passage of Melissa. The number of evacuees exceeds 735 thousand, and work continues.”
“It will be a very difficult night for all of #Cuba, but we will recover, always with the faith in victory that Fidel and Raúl instilled in us,” he added.
Jamaica declares ‘disaster area’
Hours before it hit Cuba, Hurricane Melissa caused destruction in Jamaica as it made landfall as a Category 5 storm around midday Tuesday (Oct 28) with sustained winds of up to 185 mph (295 km/h). The hurricane is the worst to his the island country since meteorological records began.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area”. Authorities have warned residents to remain sheltered due to continued flooding and the risk of landslides. The scale of damage caused by Melissa is not clear yet as the island remains without power and disrupted communication networks.
Minister Desmond McKenzie said several hospitals were damaged in the storm, including in Saint Elizabeth, a coastal district which he said was “underwater.”
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“The damage to Saint Elizabeth is extensive, based on what we have seen,” he said in a briefing. “Saint Elizabeth is the breadbasket of the country, and that has taken a beating. The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa.”
