‘Extremely dangerous’ Category 4 storm leaves behind extensive damage in Jamaica, with several reported dead; Cuba landfall expected overnight

Hurricane Melissa passed over Jamaica on Tuesday, bringing “catastrophic winds, flash flooding, and storm surge” to Jamaica, the National Hurricane Center said.

“Jamaica has gone through what I can call one of its worst experiences,” Desmond McKenzie, who is leading the government’s disaster response, said during a press conference Tuesday evening.

The storm made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, around 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It slowly traveled the island’s interior before returning to the Caribbean Sea a few hours later on a direct path toward eastern Cuba.

Though it was too early to assess the full extent of the damage in Jamaica, there were reports of widespread flooding, structural damage, blocked roads and power outages throughout the country, McKenzie said. He described the parish of St. Elizabeth on Jamaica’s southern coast as being “under water.”

Melissa has been blamed for at least seven deaths. At least three people were killed by the storm in Haiti over the weekend, and a fourth died in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. In Jamaica, officials said at least three people died ahead of Melissa’s arrival. No additional deaths had been reported as of Tuesday evening.

The storm is forecast to make landfall in Cuba as an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Our live coverage for the day has ended. It will resume Wednesday morning.

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