Hurricane Melissa live updates: No official death toll in Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica.

ByJack Moore, David Brennan, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: October 30, 2025, 10:54 PM EDT

Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica after the storm made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.

After lashing Jamaica with dangerous winds and flooding rain, Melissa made a second landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning. Melissa then moved through the Bahamas, and next, on Thursday night, the storm will pass Bermuda as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Oct 28, 2025, 5:57 PM EDT

State Department says Jamaica has formally requested assistance

The State Department said it has received a formal request for assistance from the government of Jamaica and is working with the government to assist people affected by Hurricane Melissa.

The department has prepositioned emergency relief supplies in six warehouses that will allow for the distribution of emergency relief supplies to people affected by the storm, a State Department official tells ABC News.

The official said that the State Department "maintains warehouses around the world from which we can distribute lifesaving aid in the aftermath of natural disasters."

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

Oct 28, 2025, 5:46 PM EDT

Kingston airport could open to relief flights by Thursday: Officials

The Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, could reopen to start accepting emergency relief flights as early as Thursday, officials said Tuesday.

The impact on the airport is "not extensive," Jamaica's energy, telecommunications and transport minister, Daryl Vaz, said during a briefing.

Volunteers fill up boxes with essential goods at the Global Empowerment Mission headquarters as they mobilize a major aid operation for communities affected by Hurricane Melissa, in Doral, Fla., October 28, 2025.
Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA/Shutterstock
Oct 28, 2025, 5:31 PM EDT

Melissa moving off northwest coast of Jamaica

The center of Melissa is now moving off the northwest coast of Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds currently at 145 mph.

The center is currently located about 15 miles east of Montego Bay.

Strong, damaging winds, catastrophic flash flooding and life-threatening storm surge continue to hit parts of the island nation.

People walk along a road during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Rocky Point, Jamaica, Oct. 28, 2025.
Matias Delacroix/AP

The core of Melissa is expected to move away from western Jamaica on Tuesday evening, moving back over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea as it closes in on southeastern Cuba next.

Melissa is forecast to make a second landfall later Tuesday night along the coast of southeastern Cuba, west of Guantanamo Bay, potentially re-strengthening a bit as it moves across warm water again over the next several hours.

-ABC News' Dan Peck

Oct 28, 2025, 5:28 PM EDT

Hospital in southwestern Jamaica severely damaged

Black River Hospital, located on the southwestern coast of Jamaica, has sustained severe damage and service has been disrupted due to Hurricane Melissa, health officials said.

"Despite the disruption, members of the health team are working tirelessly to ensure the continued care and safety of all patients, with efforts underway to restore full functionality," the Jamaican health ministry said.

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