Melissa weakens, but leaves at least 50 dead and destruction in the Caribbean

Melissa, one of the strongest storms ever recorded to hit the Caribbean, began to dissipate this Friday (31) after leaving a trail of destruction across much of Jamaica, isolating communities in Cuba, drenching Haiti and leaving at least 50 people dead.

Melissa was the most powerful storm to directly hit Jamaica and the first major hurricane to do so since 1988. US forecasting company AccuWeather estimated damage and economic losses at between $48 billion and $52 billion across the western Caribbean.

Melissa struck southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, well above the minimum wind speed for the highest classification for hurricanes, and devastated many areas already hit by last year’s Hurricane Beryl.

Jamaica’s information minister confirmed at least 19 deaths on Friday, but said there were indications that more bodies would be recovered.

Around 462,000 people remain without power and emergency food distribution has already begun, she said.

In Haiti, which was not directly hit but suffered days of torrential rain due to the low-intensity storm, there were at least 31 deaths and 20 missing, according to authorities.

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

“It’s a sad moment for the country,” said the head of Haiti’s presidential transition council.

“In addition to the deaths and missing people, there is a lot of material damage: houses were destroyed, fields were flooded, livestock was lost and roads were blocked.”

Authorities also warned of the risk of cholera, which resurfaced in Haiti in 2022 and is spread through contaminated water.

In Cuba, which Melissa hit as a Category 3 hurricane, no deaths were reported as of Friday, although it caused extensive damage to homes, roads and crops.

Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the east of the island and the surrounding areas of Cuba’s second largest city, Santiago de Cuba.

Melissa has disrupted communications in five of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, local government minister Desmond McKenzie said at a news conference as he presented an initial assessment of the damage.

“It’s not pretty reading,” he said of the northwestern port town of Falmouth: “The town hall building was destroyed. The infirmary: destroyed. The Roads and Works department: destroyed. The courthouse: destroyed.”

Flights carrying humanitarian aid began landing in Jamaica on Thursday, as the country’s military called up reserves to help with relief and rescue efforts.

“The situation on the ground is what can only be described as apocalyptic,” World Food Program Caribbean Director Brian Bogart said at a news conference after visiting Black River.

“It feels like a bomb went off in that community and people are still in shock.”

Black River resident Pamella Foster said she was trying to be strong for her grandchildren after returning to find her home destroyed, with the roof, windows and doors torn off and the kitchen washed out to sea.

“We will survive,” he said. “But the pain is like your heart and stomach are exploding. It’s just too much.”

US forecasting firm AccuWeather said Melissa was the third most intense hurricane observed in the Caribbean, as well as the slowest moving, worsening damage in affected areas.

Scientists warn that hurricanes are intensifying faster and more frequently as a result of warming ocean waters caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Many Caribbean leaders have called on rich, highly polluting nations to offer reparations in the form of aid or debt relief.

As of 12pm this Friday (Brasília time), Melissa was a post-tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 137 km/h, heading northeast towards Iceland and the Faroe Islands.