Overview
- The National Hurricane Center declared Melissa post-tropical on Oct. 31 after it swept past Bermuda, ending a roughly 10-day run across the region.
- At least 50 deaths are confirmed across the Caribbean, including 19 in Jamaica and 31 in Haiti with more missing, while Cuba has reported extensive damage but no deaths so far.
- Melissa struck Jamaica as a Category 5 with 185 mph winds, then hit eastern Cuba as a Category 3, passed near the Bahamas as a Category 1, and later brushed Bermuda before racing into the North Atlantic.
- Jamaica reports severe infrastructure losses with roughly 60% of the island still without power, nearly half of water systems offline, communications down in several parishes, and towns like Black River suffering widespread roof failures.
- Preliminary economic losses across the western Caribbean are estimated at $48–$52 billion, and Jamaica’s World Bank-linked catastrophe bond has been triggered to speed recovery funds as international relief operations scale up.