The year's strongest storm, Hurricane Melissa, is heading towards Cuba after making widespread disruptions in Caribbean islands, especially in Jamaica on Tuesday morning, October 28, after making landfall, bringing widespread rainfall and storms, damaging infrastructure and killing at least seven people.
The Category 5 Hurricane made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday morning, bringing 185 mph winds, which led to power cuts, damage to homes, schools, international airports and hospitals across the region. The US National Hurricane Centre has called it one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record.
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Videos shared on social media sites show widespread damage to buildings, flooded streets and toppled roofs of homes. One of the X (formerly Twitter) videos shows widespread damage at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay in Jamaica.
Another video shows major flooding along the Santa Cruz Bypass in St. Elizabeth. The street appeared to be the hardest hit in the region as submerged in floodwaters and widespread structural damage was reported.
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Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the scale of destruction was "significant." He said the cyclonic storm damaged hospitals, residential properties, housing and commercial complexes so far. Richard Thompson, Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), told CNN that there is extensive damage in the southwestern areas, major damage in St. Elizabeth.