Hurricane Melissa, which slammed into Jamaica as a category five storm, was so powerful that it made the Air Force reserves “Hurricane hunters”—the veteran pilots who fly into hurricanes—turn back twice to ensure that their aircraft wasn’t torn apart in mid-air.
The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron hit “forces stronger than normal,” because even by their standards, Hurricane Melissa was a different beast.
— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) October 28, 2025
By Tuesday morning, the storm’s near-perfectly circular 10-mile-wide eye had grown before Melissa tore into Jamaica with winds up to 185 mph. This record-breaking Category 5 storm flattened everything in its path. Entire neighborhoods vanished under floodwaters, and traffic lights lay in heaps of debris. The United Nations called the destruction on a level “never seen before.”
Cuba got slammed next. More than 700,000 people spent the night in shelters as homes collapsed and roads disappeared under landslides. By Thursday, Melissa had weakened to a Category 2 storm, still strong enough to tear roofs off and trigger flooding. The storm killed at least 34 people across the Caribbean.
What’s Next for Hurricane Melissa?
Relief efforts began almost immediately, though “immediately” is relative. The U.S. response stumbled out of the gate thanks to a government shutdown and the defunct USAID program. Usually, the DART disaster team would’ve had boots on the ground before Melissa even made landfall. Not this time around.
NGOs and nonprofits filled the void. Nonprofit Project Dynamo launched “Operation Cool Runnings,” flying in thousands of pounds of aid, while the U.N. World Food Program prepped emergency rations for 6,000 people a week.
The Red Cross worked triage in shelters and hospitals as Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, toured the wreckage, trying to sound hopeful, trying to imbue his nation with resiliency, saying, “Despite the difficulties, the Jamaican spirit shines through as a strong reminder we are a resilient nation with the capacity to triumph over adversity.”
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