{"id":446,"date":"2025-10-29T08:24:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=446"},"modified":"2025-10-29T08:24:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:24:42","slug":"jamaica-declares-disaster-as-monstrous-melissa-ravages-island-climate-crisis-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=446","title":{"rendered":"Jamaica declares disaster as \u2018Monstrous Melissa\u2019 ravages island | Climate Crisis News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a \u201cdisaster area\u201d after Hurricane Melissa barrelled across the Caribbean island as one of the most powerful storms on record, leaving behind a trail of devastation.<\/p>\n

The hurricane \u2013 which made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Tuesday \u2013 ripped off the roofs of homes, inundated the nation\u2019s \u201cbread basket\u201d, and felled power lines and trees, leaving most of its 2.8 million people without electricity.<\/p>\n

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list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

Melissa took hours to cross over Jamaica, a passage over land that diminished its winds, dropping it down to a Category 3 storm, before it ramped back up as it continued on Wednesday towards Cuba.<\/p>\n

Holness said in a series of posts on X that the storm has \u201cravaged\u201d his country and the disaster declaration gives his government \u201ctools to continue managing\u201d its response to the storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that where the eye of the hurricane hit, there would be devastating impact,\u201d he told the United States news channel CNN late on Tuesday. \u201cReports we have had so far include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well, and damage to our road infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holness said he does not have any confirmed reports of deaths at the moment. \u201cBut with a Category 5 hurricane, \u2026 we are expecting some loss of life,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The prime minister said his government was mobilising quickly to start relief and recovery efforts by Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Even before Melissa slammed into Jamaica, seven deaths \u2013 three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic \u2013 were caused by the hurricane.<\/p>\n

Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica\u2019s local government minister, told reporters on Tuesday evening that the storm had caused damage across almost every parish in the country and left most of the island without electricity.<\/p>\n

He said the storm had put the parish of St Elizabeth, the country\u2019s main agricultural region, \u201cunder water\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe damage to St Elizabeth is extensive, based on what we have seen,\u201d the minister said, adding that \u201calmost every parish is experiencing blocked roads, fallen trees and utility poles, and excess flooding in many communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWork is presently on the way to restore our service, to give priorities to the critical facilities, such as hospitals and water and pumping stations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The storm caused \u201csignificant damage\u201d to at least four hospitals, Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.<\/p>\n

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A roof was completely torn off a building at a section of the Savanna La Mar Public General Hospital due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. The system made landfall earlier today near New Hope district in Westmoreland, Jamaica. #GLNRToday<\/a> #TrackingMelissa<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/zBnm9bu4Oq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) October 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2018Monstrous Melissa\u2019<\/h2>\n

Robian Williams, a journalist with the Nationwide News Network radio broadcaster in Kingston, told Al Jazeera that the storm was the \u201cworst we\u2019ve ever experienced\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly heartbreaking, devastating,\u201d she said from the capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re calling Hurricane Melissa \u2018Monstrous Melissa\u2019 here in Jamaica because that\u2019s how powerful she was. \u2026 The devastation is widespread, mostly being felt and still being felt in the western ends of the country at this point in time. So many homes, so many people have been displaced,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did prepare, but there wasn\u2019t much that we could have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trout Hall Rd, Clarendon#TrackingMelissa<\/a> #HurricaneMelissa<\/a> #Jamaica<\/a> @CVMTV<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/bTop93pOvp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Giovanni R. Dennis (@GiovanniRDennis) October 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In Kingston, Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist, said her home was devastated by the storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister \u2026 explained that parts of our roof was blown off and other parts caved in and the entire house was flooded,\u201d she told the AFP news agency. \u201cOutside structures like our outdoor kitchen, dog kennel and farm animal pens were also gone, destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mathue Tapper, 31, told AFP that those in the capital were \u201clucky\u201d but he feared for people in Jamaica\u2019s more rural areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart goes out to the folks living on the western end of the island,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Melissa restrengthens<\/h2>\n

The US National Hurricane Center warned on Tuesday night that Melissa was restrengthening as it approached eastern Cuba.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpected to make landfall there as an extremely dangerous major hurricane in the next few hours,\u201d the centre warned at 11pm Cuba time on Tuesday (03:00 GMT on Wednesday).<\/p>\n

Authorities in Cuba have evacuated more than 700,000 people, according to Granma, the official newspaper, and forecasters said the Category 4 storm would unleash catastrophic damage in Santiago de Cuba and nearby areas.<\/p>\n

\"epa12488824
People shelter from the rain in Santiago de Cuba on October 28, 2025 [Ernesto Mastrascusa\/EPA]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas\u00a0as well as for the southeastern and central Bahamas. A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.<\/p>\n

The storm was expected to generate a storm surge of up to 3.6 metres (12ft) in the region and drop up to 51cm (20 inches) of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,\u201d President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a televised address in which he assured that \u201cno one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population\u201d.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he urged Cubans not to underestimate the power of Hurricane Melissa, \u201cthe strongest ever to hit national territory\u201d.<\/p>\n

Climate change<\/h2>\n

Although Jamaica and Cuba are used to hurricanes, climate change is making the storms more severe.<\/p>\n

British-Jamaican climate change activist and author Mikaela Loach said in a video shared on social media that Melissa \u201cgained energy from the extremely and unnaturally hot seas in the Caribbean\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese sea temperatures are not natural,\u201d Loach said. \u201cThey\u2019re extremely hot because of the gasses that have resulted from burning fossil fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCountries like Jamaica, countries that are most vulnerable to climate disaster are also countries that have had their wealth and resources stripped away from them through colonial bondage,\u201d Loach added.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Holness urged wealthy countries to increase climate financing to assist countries like Jamaica with adapting to the effects of a warming world.<\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change is not a distant threat or an academic consideration. It is a daily reality for small island developing states like Jamaica,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jamaica is responsible for just 0.02 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming, according to data from the World Resources Institute.<\/p>\n

But like other tropical islands, it is expected to continue to bear the brunt of worsening climate effects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n