Overview
- Prime Minister Andrew Holness said 28 deaths have been confirmed in Jamaica, with additional reports still being verified.
- Preliminary counts place the Caribbean-wide death toll near 60, with severe flooding and landslides reported in Haiti and Cuba.
- The United Nations urged international assistance, and the CERF allocation of $4 million is intended to rapidly scale humanitarian operations.
- Saint Elizabeth in western Jamaica sustained some of the heaviest losses, crippling agriculture and leaving communities isolated with fuel shortages and downed communications.
- Meteorologists reported winds near 300 km/h, making Melissa the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in roughly 90 years, with the storm’s eye contributing to dangerous shifts in wind direction.