Hurricane Melissa Impacts

Tropical Storm Melissa strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

Chaos in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba

The storm left widespread damage across the Dominican Republic, affecting 183 homes, displacing 915 people, and forcing 61 into shelters. The storm also isolated 19 communities, damaged infrastructure, and left more than 1.1 million residents without access to drinking water.

In the Los Rios neighborhood of the capital, Santo Domingo, several families were forced to flee rising floodwaters Thursday night after a nearby river overflowed its banks, according to the daily newspaper Listin Diario.

More than two dozen Dominican communities remain cut off by floodwaters, which have prompted mandatory evacuations and school closures across the country.

Melissa Enters Cuba

Hurricane Melissa charged toward Cuba after pummeling Jamaica.

CUBA: Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba early Wednesday, October 29. With winds up to 120 mph, the Category 3 hurricane battered Cuba’s Santiago de Cuba province. Streets are flooded, trees uprooted, and power outages reported as emergency crews work around the clock to respond to the storm’s devastating impact.

Local officials confirmed four-meter waves along the southern coast and heavy flooding across the city. Cuban authorities said over 735,000 people were evacuated before landfall, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel warning of “significant damage.”

Melissa is forecast to move into the Bahamas later Wednesday, with Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Turks and Caicos bracing for its effects.

The National Hurricane Center warns that Melissa remains a strong system as it moves toward the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Residents are urged to stay sheltered as authorities continue rescue and recovery efforts amid dangerous conditions.

HAITI: In southern Haiti, flooding from the storm killed 25 people in the coastal town of Petit-Goâve when a river burst its banks and swamped homes, according to Mayor Jean Bertrand Subrème. The feeder bands from Melissa are causing Serious Flooding along the Tiburon Peninsula. Rockslides are likely, along with extremely dangerous Rivers. Some communities may be cut off from other areas.

BAHAMAS: Hurricane Conditions are likely today for Long Island, Crooked Island, Rum Key, and San Salvador Island. Tropical Storm Conditions are likely for Grand Exuma, Little Exuma, and Cat Island. Gusts will be around 100 mph.

BERMUDA: Heaviest weather may stay west, but Hurricane Melissa will be close Thursday night. If the storm gets closer, wind gusts between 50 and 70 mph.

CANADA: Melissa will combine with a storm system that is sweeping through the United States, creating high winds on Friday. Winds along the coast of Newfoundland, especially the Avalon Peninsula, could be from 50-70 mph.