Overview
- The storm made Category 3 landfall near Chivirico in Santiago de Cuba around 3:10 a.m. with 120 mph winds before tracking northeast.
- Jamaica declared a disaster area after a 185 mph Category 5 strike, with St. Elizabeth reported "underwater," multiple hospitals damaged, and widespread power and communications outages.
- Cuban authorities evacuated about 735,000 people across eastern provinces, and officials in the Bahamas ordered evacuations in southern islands ahead of the storm.
- The National Hurricane Center expects Melissa to remain a strong hurricane as it crosses the southeastern and central Bahamas today and passes near Bermuda Thursday night, bringing heavy rain, flooding and storm surge.
- At least seven deaths have been reported across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with some local officials in Haiti citing higher tolls, as assessments continue and UN and government aid deployments ramp up.