Hurricane “Melissa”: At least 20 useless in floods in Haiti | EUROtoday

As of: October 29, 2025 8:13 p.m

After Jamaica and Cuba, Hurricane Melissa additionally induced extreme destruction in Haiti. At least 20 folks died there because of extreme flooding. The hurricane is now shifting additional in the direction of the Bahamas.

Hurricane Melissa left a path of destruction within the Caribbean. At least 20 folks have died in extreme flooding in Haiti. At least 10 others had been lacking after a river burst its banks because of persistent rainfall through the storm, civil protection stated.

Half of the fatalities had been kids, it was stated. The search operations are ongoing.

The La Digue river overflowed its banks within the west of the nation early on Wednesday morning (native time), as reported by the newspaper “Le Nouvelliste” and the tv station Radio Télévision Caraïbes, amongst others. There was initially speak of eight deaths, however the quantity was later elevated and will rise even additional.

Houses, vehicles and animals swept away

Several cities within the municipality of Petit Goâve had been reportedly flooded. The floods induced important harm, reported “Le Nouvelliste”, citing eyewitnesses. Houses, vehicles and livestock had been swept away by raging water and fields had been destroyed.

In addition to Jamaica, the storm hit Cuba with full power. There was additionally precipitation, landslides and robust gusts of wind within the surrounding nations. Three folks had been killed in Haiti and one individual was killed within the Dominican Republic.

Large components of Jamaica Power provide lower off

Meanwhile, the total extent of the harm brought on by the hurricane in Jamaica stays unclear. After “Melissa” handed by means of, three our bodies had been found, native media reported, citing the police. Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon stated 77 % of the nation was lower off from energy. The water methods, nevertheless, weren’t severely affected.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness will quickly fly over a number of the island’s hardest-hit areas, Dixon stated. These included St Elizabeth, Manchester, West Moreland and St James. Emergency providers there have been nonetheless busy figuring out the extent of the harm. It will not be but potential to make dependable statements about this, stated Dixon.

UN: “Unprecedented destruction of infrastructure”

The UN coordinator in Jamaica, Dennis Zulu, stated the storm had induced “tremendous and unprecedented destruction of infrastructure, property, roads and network connections” within the nation. People are staying in emergency shelters in every single place. According to preliminary assessments, the nation has been “devastated to an unprecedented extent.”

According to the help group Caritas International, total areas are lower off from the surface world. “Many roads and bridges are damaged or flooded, power and communication outages are hindering accessibility,” stated Caritas spokesman Achim Reinke. According to preliminary harm analyses, a number of hospitals had been additionally severely broken.

Further Hundreds of hundreds folks in emergency shelters

According to preliminary findings, the storm induced extreme flooding in Cuba. Videos are circulating on social networks that present the state of affairs within the notably affected areas: individuals are wading by means of nearly knee-deep water of their homes and cries for assist could be heard. Outside, streets have was raging rivers.

According to authorities, round 735,000 folks had been nonetheless in emergency shelters following an evacuation in japanese Cuba. The governor of Granma province, Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez, stated that town of Jiguaní was notably affected by flooding. Rivers overflowed their banks and homes and workplaces had been flooded. Authorities additionally reported collapsed homes and impassable mountain roads.

“Melissa” is heading in the direction of the Bahamas

The hurricane is now persevering with its devastating course by means of the Atlantic in the direction of the Bahamas after which Bermuda. According to the US Hurricane Center in Miami, “Melissa” is at the moment a hurricane within the second strongest class with sustained wind speeds of as much as 155 kilometers per hour. The middle of the storm was shifting quickly ahead at a velocity of twenty-two kilometers per hour.

The hurricane is subsequent anticipated to maneuver over the southeastern or central a part of the Bahamas archipelago. Meteorologists warned of damaging gusts of wind and heavy rainfall within the Bahamas and Cuba. A harmful storm surge can be to be anticipated within the Bahamas.