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Hurricane Melissa death toll and damage: Videos show widespread destruction in Jamaica as storm heads toward Cuba
Videos emerging from Jamaica show flooded streets, collapsed buildings, and hospital roofs torn off as Melissa's winds ripped through coastal communities.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon as a powerful Category 5 storm. It unleashed catastrophic winds, torrential rain, and storm surges that caused extensive damage to homes, schools, and hospitals across the region.
Widespread damage reported
Videos emerging from Jamaica show flooded streets, collapsed buildings, and hospital roofs torn off as Melissa's winds ripped through coastal and inland communities.
Speaking with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the scale of destruction was "significant."
"Reports that we have had so far would include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well," he said.
The parish of St. Elizabeth appears to be among the hardest hit, with neighborhoods submerged in floodwaters and widespread structural damage reported.
“There is extensive, extensive damage in the southwestern areas, in St. Elizabeth, major damage in St. Elizabeth, a lot of flooding, extensive wind damage to schools, hospitals out there, homes,” Richard Thompson, Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), told CNN.
Among the affected facilities is Black River Hospital, the parish's primary medical center.
“We have confirmed coming into our operation center impact to the Black River Hospital,” Thompson told CNN. “We are really expecting extensive damage to that hospital."
Also Read: Fact check: Viral clip of shark on Jamaican streets during Hurricane Melissa is AI-generated
Death toll
According to Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, no deaths have been directly linked to the storm's landfall in Jamaica so far. However, Hurricane Melissa has been blamed for seven deaths in total — three in Jamaica during storm preparations, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic.
Storm path and current strength
As of the latest update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Melissa has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph (200 km/h).
The hurricane is now pulling away from Jamaica and moving toward eastern Cuba.
Currently, Melissa is located about 160 miles southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, moving north-northeast at 8 mph.
The NHC forecasts that the storm will remain a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) as it moves across Cuba and the Bahamas.
Melissa is expected to bring 10 to 20 inches of rain to eastern Cuba, with up to 25 inches possible in the mountains, increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides.
