Mon | Oct 27, 2025

Bracing for Hurricane Melissa

Published:Monday | October 27, 2025 | 12:08 AM
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Fuel pumps are covered in plastic at a gas station ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, on Sunday, October 26.
AP
Fuel pumps are covered in plastic at a gas station ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, on Sunday, October 26.
A man holds his fishing rod ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston.
AP
A man holds his fishing rod ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston.
People buying groceries ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston.
AP
People buying groceries ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston.
Children playing in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Friday, October 24.
AP
Children playing in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Friday, October 24.
Children playing in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
AP
Children playing in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
People walk in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
AP
People walk in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
People wading through a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
AP
People wading through a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
People place plastic tarps over their tents ahead of expected rain at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
AP
People place plastic tarps over their tents ahead of expected rain at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
A woman walks hand-in-hand with a small girl during light rain in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
AP
A woman walks hand-in-hand with a small girl during light rain in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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On Sunday, Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, with the possibility of intensifying to a Category 5 storm. It is likely to unleash torrential rain and threaten to cause catastrophic flooding are expected in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The weather agency added that Melissa is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica as a major hurricane late on Monday or Tuesday morning, and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.

Melissa should be near or over Cuba by late Tuesday, where it could bring up to 12 inches (300 millimetres) of rain, before moving towards The Bahamas later Wednesday.

AP