The death toll from Hurricane Melissa rose to nearly 50 on Thursday after the devastating storm tore through several Caribbean islands and advanced towards Bermuda, officials said.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that while floodwaters were beginning to subside in the Bahamas, high water levels could persist in Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
According to a study by Imperial College London, the storm — one of the most powerful ever recorded — was made four times more likely by human-induced climate change.
Late on Thursday, Bermuda was experiencing tropical storm conditions, with maximum sustained winds reaching 100 miles (155 kilometres) per hour. The island remained under a hurricane warning, the NHC confirmed.
Governments across the region urged residents to take precautions as the storm, though weakening slightly, remained highly dangerous.
Melissa unleashed catastrophic destruction on Jamaica and Cuba, leaving residents counting their losses and facing an uncertain recovery.
Jamaica’s Information Minister, Dana Morris Dixon, told local media that 19 deaths had been confirmed, including nine in Westmoreland and eight in St Elizabeth — two of the island’s hardest-hit parishes.
Communications and transport links in Jamaica and Cuba remain severely disrupted, and full assessments of the damage could take several days.
In Haiti, the civil defence agency reported that the death toll had climbed to 30, with 20 people injured and another 20 missing. More than 1,000 homes have been flooded, and around 16,000 people are sheltering in emergency centres.
Across eastern Cuba, residents battled floodwaters amid collapsed homes and widespread power outages. The storm ripped off roofs, shattered windows, and uprooted trees.
“Melissa killed us, because it left us destroyed,” said Felicia Correa from the La Trampa community near El Cobre. “We were already struggling. Now, of course, it’s much worse.”
Cuban authorities said about 735,000 people had been evacuated, mainly in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, and Guantánamo.
The United States deployed disaster assistance and search-and-rescue teams to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, with additional teams heading to Haiti. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was prepared to offer humanitarian aid to Cuba as well.
The United Kingdom also pledged £2.5 million (approximately $3.3 million) in emergency funding and announced limited charter flights to evacuate British nationals from the affected areas.
UN Resident Coordinator in Jamaica, Dennis Zulu, described the situation as “tremendously, unprecedentedly devastating,” highlighting the destruction of infrastructure, property, and essential services.
Authorities in Jamaica said confirming fatalities remained difficult, as many of the worst-hit communities were still inaccessible and communication networks were down.
Hurricane Melissa matched the 1935 record for the most intense storm ever to make landfall when it struck Jamaica on Tuesday, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In Seaford Town, businessman and farmer Christopher Hacker said his restaurant and banana plantations had been flattened. “Everything is gone,” he told AFP.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said the storm served as a stark reminder of the urgent need to accelerate global climate action.
“These mega-storms are a brutal reminder that we must step up efforts to tackle climate change on all fronts,” he warned.