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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Hurricane tracker shows Melissa is now stronger than Katrina as 'storm of the century' closes in on Jamaica: Live updates
2025-10-29
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Entire towns in Jamaica are underwater after Hurricane Melissa made landfall as one of the most powerful in history, wreaking havoc on the Caribbean island and leaving as many as 25,000 tourists stranded.

The storm made landfall as a Category 5 but the National Hurricane Center has since downgraded Melissa to a 'powerful' Category 3 as it barrels toward Cuba, where it is expected to hit by late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island was a 'disaster area' on Tuesday afternoon as he seeks to 'prevent any exploitation at a time when citizens are securing food, water and supplies' in the midst of the tragedy.

Some 15,000 Jamaicans are hunkering down in shelters and as many as 530,000 people are without power, officials said.

As part of the order, the government has renewed a trade order which will prohibit any price gouging during recovery efforts and the subsequent clean up.

It comes after officials contacted the Trump administration for assistance and launched a relief website as the nation looks to recover from the catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge.

So far, seven deaths have been reported during storm preparations across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. But officials said since the storm made landfall in Jamaica, they have not recorded any new fatalities.

Melissa is one of the strongest hurricanes in recorded history, surpassing the intensity of Katrina. That storm caused an estimated $125bn (£94bn) worth of damage and killed 1,392 people when it struck New Orleans in 2005.
Related:
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