Geneva, Switzerland

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Hurricane Melissa, which could be the most violent storm to hit Jamaica and has already claimed several lives, could affect at least 1.5 million people, the Red Cross warned on Tuesday.

With winds of up to 280 kilometers per hour, the Category 5 hurricane, the highest category, has already claimed three lives in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic.

At least “1.5 million people could be affected, including families still recovering from Hurricane Beryl,” Necephor Mghendi, head of delegation for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said at a press conference.

“But this figure is greatly underestimated, as the impact on the population will include disruptions to essential services, market disruptions and, of course, road blockages. This means that the entire population could be affected in one way or another,” he added, speaking from Trinidad and Tobago.

Melissa began hitting Jamaica on Tuesday, where it is likely to cause catastrophic flooding and landslides.

“The humanitarian threat is serious and immediate,” Mghendi said.

“It’s a massive hurricane” and “its impact is also expected to be massive,” said Anne-Claire Fontan, a tropical cyclone specialist at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva.

“There will be catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides,” she explained.

If it does not lose intensity, it will be the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in Jamaica since weather records began.

“So far, this is the storm of the century for Jamaica,” said Ms. Fontan.

The concern is all the greater as Hurricane Melissa is moving at a very slow speed of 4 km/h. Torrential rains and strong winds could therefore continue for a long time.

The last major hurricane to make landfall in Jamaica was Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988, killing 40 people and causing enormous damage. Since then, the island has been hit by several hurricanes, the most recent being Beryl in July 2024, which did not make landfall.

For the past week, the Jamaican Red Cross has been on high alert, with at least 400 volunteers mobilized, the IFRC said Tuesday.

“We hope for the best, but we must prepare for the worst,” Mr. Mghendi insisted.

Melissa is then expected to hit Cuba, where authorities have begun closing schools and evacuating residents, while power outages are preventing the effective dissemination of warning messages.

Continuing its path northward, the hurricane could then hit the southern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British territory.

Humaniterre with AFP