At least 56 dead after Hurricane Melissa sweeps across Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti.

At least 56 people have died in Jamaica and Haiti after Hurricane Melissa swept across the Greater Antilles between 25 and 29 October 2025. The storm first appeared as a tropical depression off the coast of West Africa around 16 October, moving across the Atlantic Ocean, then passing through the Windward Islands on 19 October, before continuing to move westwards across the Caribbean Sea. The weather system began to intensify on 21 October, provoking meteorologists to give it the name Tropical Storm Melissa. On 25 October it began to intensify further, becoming a Category 5 storm early on 27 October. At the same time it changed its direction of movement sweeping northward towards Jamaica, where it made landfall near New Hope about midday on 28 October.

The path and strength of Hurricane Melissa. Thick line indicates the past path of the storm (till 3.00 pm GMT on Friday 31 October 2025), while the thin line indicates the predicted future path of the storm, and the dotted circles the margin of error at 9, 21, 33, 45, 69, and 93 hours ahead. Colour indicated the severity of the storm. Tropical Storm Risk.

Hurricane Melissa reached Jamaica as the joint most intense Hurricane ever to make land, tying with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 in having a pressure of only 892 millibars, and a maximum recorded windspeed of 406 km per hour - the highest ever recorded for a storm on Earth. Flooding was reported in the town of Old Harbour ahead of the storm, with much of the parish of Saint Elizabeth under water when it hit. Several villages in the parish are described as being obliterated by the combination of flood waters and high winds, as was the town of Mandeville in neighbouring Manchester Parish. Flooding was also reported in Montego Bay and Kingston, buildings collapsed in Falmouth, and a landslide was reported in Gordon Town. At least 19 people died on the island, including eight in Saint Elizabeth Parish, two (including an infant) in Saint James Parish, nine in Westemoreland Parish, and a pregnant woman in Petersfield.

Storm damage around  St. John's Anglican Church in Black River, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Ricardo Makyn/AFP/Getty Images.

From Jamaica, the storm moved northward to Cuba, where it caused widespread flooding and damage to buildings in Santiago de Cuba Province, although there are no reports of any fatalities there. However, high rainfall associated with the the storm caused several rivers to bust their banks in neighbouring Haiti, where at least 30 people have died and about 20 more are still missing. Four people are also reported to have died in the Dominican Republic, again due to flooding.

Vehicles buried in mud after a river burst its banks in  Petit-Goâve, Haiti, following rains associated with Hurricane Melissa. Clarens Siffroy/AFP/Getty Images.

Tropical storms are caused by the warming effect of the Sun over tropical seas. As the air warms it expands, causing a drop in air pressure, and rises, causing air from outside the area to rush in to replace it. If this happens over a sufficiently wide area then the inrushing winds will be affected by centrifugal forces caused by the Earth's rotation (the Coriolis effect). This means that winds will be deflected clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere, eventually creating a large, rotating Tropical Storm. They have different names in different parts of the world, with those in the northwest Atlantic and eastern Pacific being referred to as hurricanes.

The formation of a tropical cyclone. Natural Disaster Management.

Despite the obvious danger of winds of this speed, which can physically blow people, and other large objects, away as well as damaging buildings and uprooting trees, the real danger from these storms comes from the flooding they bring. Each drop millibar drop in air-pressure leads to an approximate 1 cm rise in sea level, with big tropical storms capable of causing a storm surge of several meters. This is always accompanied by heavy rainfall, since warm air over the ocean leads to evaporation of sea water, which is then carried with the storm. These combined often lead to catastrophic flooding in areas hit by tropical storms.

The formation and impact of a storm surge. eSchoolToday.

Hurricane Melissa was the thirteenth named storm in the tropical Atlantic in 2025, the fifth storm to be elevated to hurricane status, and the third Category 5 hurricane of the season. It was also the strongest tropical storm measured anywhere on Earth in 2025, the joint most powerful storm ever to have made land, and produced the highest windspeed ever recorded from a storm on Earth. The size and frequency of such storms is directly linked to the temperature of the sea and the air above it, with rising global temperatures subsequently fuelling more and larger storms, and other extreme weather events in the Caribbean and other tropical regions.

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Four dead following Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake in Haiti.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km roughly 9 km to the northeast of the commune of Les Abricots on the northern side of the Tiburon Peninsula, Haiti, slightly after 5.10 am local time (slightly after 9.10 am GMT) on Tuesday 6 June 2023. Four people are known to have died following this event, and injuring more than 25, including several children. Three of the deceased are reported to be members of the same family, killed when their house collapsed. 

The approximate location of the 6 June 2023 Haiti Earthquake. USGS.

Haiti forms the western part of the island of La Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles. The island has a complex geological structure, with parts of it lying on three different tectonic plates, and two plate margins running east-to-west across the island. The northernmost part of the island lies on the North American Plate. This is divided from the Gonâve Microplate by the Septentrional Fault Zone, which runs through Rio San Juan, along the north coast of the Dominican Republic and the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, then across the Windward Passage and along the south coast of Cuba. The Gonâve Microplate is moving east relative to the North American Plate, pushed by the Mid-Cayman Spreading centre to the west of Jamaica. To the south the Gonâve Microplate is separated from the Caribbean Plate by the Enriquilo-Plantain Garden Fault Zone, which runs across Southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To the west the fault runs through central Jamaica. The Caribbean Plate is rotating clockwise, effectively moving east relative to the Gonâve Microplate.

Plate movements and fault zones around the Gonâve Microplate. Mike Norton/Wikimedia Commons.

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Major Cholera outbreak in Haiti contributes to ongoing Humanitarian crisis.

Haiti is experiencing a resurgence of Cholera, with the outbreak initially reported on 2 October 2022 after more than three years with no reported cases of the disease, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization on 13 December 2022. The epidemic appears to be evolving rapidly, and spreading to all parts of the country. There is also an ongoing complex humanitarian crisis that is rapidly deteriorating due to gang violence, socio-political conflicts, insecurity, fuel shortages, and economic instability. This has resulted in limited access to healthcare and essential services, including water, food, sanitation, and supply services. This situation makes the population of Haiti highly vulnerable to the ongoing Cholera outbreak.

Between 2 October and 6 December 2022, a cumulative total of 13 672 suspected Cholera cases, including 283 deaths (giving a case fatality rate of 2.05%) have been reported by the Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population from all ten departments in the country. Eighty-six percent of all reported cases (11 751 people) have been hospitalised. The Ouest Department accounts for the highest percentage (89%) of suspected cases (12 112 individuals). Of the 13 672 suspected Cholera cases reported, 59% are male and the most affected age groups are children aged 1 to 4 years (19%), followed by adults aged 20 to 29 years (15%) and 30 to 39 years (15%).

A total of 1193 confirmed cases have been reported. Three departments account for 94% of these: Ouest (79% or 943 cases), Centre (13% or 156 cases), and Artibonite (2% or 28 cases). Laboratory confirmation was by rapid diagnostic test and stool culture was done for identification of Vibrio cholerae. Of the confirmed Cholera cases with available information, 57% (680) are male and the most affected age groups are those aged 1 to 4 years (19%) followed by 30 to 39 years (15%) and 5 to 9 years (14%).

Geographical distribution of suspected cholera cases (n=13 276) reported in Haiti, 29 September to 6 December 2022. Haiti Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population/World Health Organization.

By November 2022, a total of 368 suspected cases, including 14 confirmed cases and 14 deaths had been reported from the Port-au-Prince Prison. These cases are included among the cases reported in the Department of Ouest. Additionally, on 21 November 2022, the Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic it had reported two confirmed imported cases of Cholera, both from Haiti.

Cholera was first reported in Haiti in October 2010. Nationally, a total of 820 000 cases of cholera including 9792 deaths were reported between October 2010 and February 2019. The last confirmed case in this outbreak was reported in January 2019 in I’Estère in the Artibonite Department of Haiti. The country did not report a single case of Cholera in the three years from January 2019 to January 2022. The current outbreak is also occurring in the context of a complex Humanitarian crisis that is exacerbating the burden of disease and hindering response measures.

Number of suspected Cholera cases (13 672) reported in Haiti from 2 October to 6 December 2022. Haiti Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population/World Health Organization.

Cholera is an acute enteric infection caused by ingesting the Bacterium Vibrio cholerae, a Gram-negative, comma-shaped Gammaproteobacteria, related to other pathogenic Bacteria such as Yersinia pestis (Bubonic Plague), and Esherchia coli (food poisoning), which present in contaminated water or food. It is mainly linked to insufficient access to safe drinking water and inadequate sanitation. It is an extremely virulent disease that can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea resulting in high morbidity and mortality, and can spread rapidly, depending on the frequency of exposure, the exposed population and the setting. Cholera affects both children and adults and can be fatal if untreated.

SEM image of Vibrio cholerae Bacteria. Kim et al. (2000).

The incubation period is between 12 hours and five days after ingestion of contaminated food or water. Most people infected with Vibrio cholerae do not develop any symptoms, although the Bacteria are present in their faeces for 1-10 days after infection and are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people. Among people who develop symptoms, the majority have mild or moderate symptoms, while a minority develop acute watery diarrhoea with severe dehydration. Cholera is an easily treatable disease. Most people can be treated successfully through prompt administration of oral rehydration solution.

Cholera can be endemic or epidemic. A Cholera-endemic area is an area where confirmed Cholera cases were detected during the last three years with evidence of local transmission (cases are not imported from elsewhere). A Cholera epidemic can occur in both endemic countries and in non-endemic countries. Uninfected dead bodies have never been reported as the source of epidemics.

The consequences of a humanitarian crisis – such as disruption of water and sanitation systems, or the displacement of populations to inadequate and overcrowded camps – can increase the risk of Cholera transmission, should the Bacteria be present or introduced.

A multi-sectoral approach including a combination of surveillance, improving access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion, rapid access to treatment, risk communication and community engagement and oral Cholera vaccines is essential to control cholera outbreaks and to reduce deaths.

The current cholera outbreak in Haiti, combined with the ongoing crisis related to gang violence, social unrest, and insecurity, has strained the health system’s response capacity. The overall risk for this outbreak in Hispaniola is assessed as very high, due to the current socio-economic situation, ongoing humanitarian crisis, food insecurity and poor health conditions are affecting a large proportion of the population, leaving them vulnerable to the risk of Cholera infection and recurrence of Cholera, the limited access of the general population to safe drinking water and to sanitation facilities, the violence and insecurity prevalent in many parts of Haiti, which leaves the public health system and international partners with limited human resources, reducing the capacity to respond to the crisis, and the lack of access to fuel and insecurity lead to difficulties to import supplies and challenges to access the affected areas.

These challenges further increase the risk of undetected cases and delayed response efforts. The insecurity and access to fuel hinders the population's access to health care, leading to delayed treatment and potentially severe outcome. Considering the magnitude and widespread nature of the Cholera epidemic that is ongoing in Haiti, in conjunction with the complex Humanitarian crisis the country is currently facing, the limited resources to control the epidemic, as well as the constant migration flows towards the Dominican Republic, the risk in Hispaniola is assessed as very high.

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Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake beneath the Tiburon Peninsula, Haiti.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km roughly 4 km to the south of the commune of Anse-à-Veau on the northern side of the Tiburon Peninsula, Haiti, slightly after 8.15 am local time (slightly after 1.15 pm GMT) on Monday 24 January 2022. Two people are reported to have died in the incident, with dozens more injured and damage reported to hundreds of buildings. The initial event was followed by a number of significant aftershocks, including a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake 50 minutes after the initial quake.

 

 The approximate location of the 24 January 2022 Haiti Earthquake. USGS.

Haiti forms the western part of the island of La Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles. The island has a complex geological structure, with parts of it lying on three different tectonic plates, and two plate margins running east-to-west across the island. The northernmost part of the island lies on the North American Plate. This is divided from the Gonâve Microplate by the Septentrional Fault Zone, which runs through Rio San Juan, along the north coast of the Dominican Republic and the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, then across the Windward Passage and along the south coast of Cuba. The Gonâve Microplate is moving east relative to the North American Plate, pushed by the Mid-Cayman Spreading centre to the west of Jamaica. To the south the Gonâve Microplate is separated from the Caribbean Plate by the Enriquilo-Plantain Garden Fault Zone, which runs across Southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To the west the fault runs through central Jamaica. The Caribbean Plate is rotating clockwise, effectively moving east relative to the Gonâve Microplate.

 

Plate movements and fault zones around the Gonâve Microplate. Mike Norton/Wikimedia Commons.

 

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Fifty nine confirmed deaths as Hurricane Maria sweeps across the Caribbean.

Fifty nine people have now been confirmed dead and a further thirty three are still missing after Hurricane Maria swept across the Caribbean this week. The hurricane hit the island of Dominica at about 9.35 pm local time on Monday 18 September 2017 as a Category Five tropical storm when it hit the Leeward Islands, with sustained winds in excess of 250 km per hour and gusts considerably stronger. The storm is known to have killed 27 people here, with another 27 still missing, and caused widespread devastation, with widespread flooding and many of the island's buildings destroyed.

Damage in Roseau, Dominica, following the passage of Hurricane Maria. Cetus News.

The storm passed to the southwest of the Leeward Islands, but still caused widespread problems there. The island of Guadeloupe was hit by winds in excess of 160 kilometres per hour and waves over six meters high, which led to two fatalities from a fishing boat off the island and widespread damage to buildings and farmland. The storm was also felt in the Lesser Antilles, with the island of Martinique hit by a storm surge, high winds and rains, which have caused extensive damage to crops and buildings and injured two people.

 Flooding on Guadeloupe on 19 September 2017, following the passage of Hurricane Maria. Frank Phazian/AP.

The storm hit Puerto Rico as a Category Four storm, with winds in excess of 210 km per hour and larger gusts. The storm caused widespread flooding on the island, including damage to a number of dams. Several coastal communities have been totally or nearly totally destroyed, and at least 24 people have died, with three people still missing on the island.

Damage to the Guajataca Dam in Puerto Rico, following the passage of Hurricane Maria. Alvin Baez/Reuters.

The storm passed to the northeast of the Dominican Republic, causing flooding and landslides that killed two people and destroyed around 110 homes. In neighbouring Haiti a further three people were killed. The Storm passed across the island of Saint Croix in the US Virgin islands,causing flooding and damage to buildings, and resulting in one fatality (due to a heart attack).

Flooding in the Dominican Republic on 20 September 2017. Erika Santlices/AFP/Getty Images.

Tropical storms are caused by the warming effect of the Sun over tropical seas. As the air warms it expands, causing a drop in air pressure, and rises, causing air from outside the area to rush in to replace it. If this happens over a sufficiently wide area then the inrushing winds will be affected by centrifugal forces caused by the Earth's rotation (the Coriolis effect). This means that winds will be deflected clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere, eventually creating a large, rotating Tropical Storm. They have different names in different parts of the world, with those in the northwest Atlantic being referred to as hurricanes.

 The path and strength of Hurricane Irma. Thick line indicates the past path of the storm (till 9.00 pm GMT on Tuesday 26 September 2017), while the thin line indicates the predicted future path of the storm, and the dotted circles the margin of error at six and twelve hours ahead. Colour indicated the severity of the storm. Tropical Storm Risk.

Despite the obvious danger of winds of this speed, which can physically blow people, and other large objects, away as well as damaging buildings and uprooting trees, the real danger from these storms comes from the flooding they bring. Each drop millibar drop in air-pressure leads to an approximate 1 cm rise in sea level, with big tropical storms capable of causing a storm surge of several meters. This is always accompanied by heavy rainfall, since warm air over the ocean leads to evaporation of sea water, which is then carried with the storm. These combined often lead to catastrophic flooding in areas hit by tropical storms.

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