KINGSTON, Jamaica – Destructive Hurricane Melissa made its second landfall early Wednesday morning, this time blasting portions of eastern Cuba with damaging winds and flooding rain just hours after devastating Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall just after 3 a.m. ET near Chivirico, Cuba, as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph. The major hurricane immediately began to weaken after making its second landfall, but forecasters warn that the storm’s fury will continue as it spins across the island.
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The Rio Cobre comes out of its banks near St. Catherine, Jamaica, shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025. Ferocious winds and torrential rain tore into Jamaica Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the worst storm ever to strike the island nation and one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. The extremely violent Category 5 system was still crawling across the Caribbean, promising catastrophic floods and life-threatening conditions as maximum sustained winds reached a staggering 185 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour). (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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A torn off roof is seen in St. Catherine, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Ferocious winds and torrential rain tore into Jamaica Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the worst storm ever to strike the island nation and one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. The extremely violent Category 5 system was still crawling across the Caribbean, promising catastrophic floods and life-threatening conditions as maximum sustained winds reached a staggering 185 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour). (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Rio Cobre comes out of its banks near St. Catherine, Jamaica, shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025. Ferocious winds and torrential rain tore into Jamaica Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the worst storm ever to strike the island nation and one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. The extremely violent Category 5 system was still crawling across the Caribbean, promising catastrophic floods and life-threatening conditions as maximum sustained winds reached a staggering 185 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour). (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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A blown down fence is seen in St. Catherine, Jamaica, shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025. Ferocious winds and torrential rain tore into Jamaica Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the worst storm ever to strike the island nation and one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. The extremely violent Category 5 system was still crawling across the Caribbean, promising catastrophic floods and life-threatening conditions as maximum sustained winds reached a staggering 185 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour). (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Waves crash onto the beach in Kingston on October 27, 2025. Hurricane Melissa threatened Jamaica with potentially deadly rains after rapidly intensifying into a top-level Category 5 storm, as residents scrambled for shelter from what could be the island’s most violent weather on record. Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and was set to unleash torrential rains on parts of Jamaica in a direct hit on the Caribbean island. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Roofing peels back on home in Black River, Jamaica.
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FILE: An American crocodile in the Black River, with a mangrove forest in the background.
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Glass doors are sucked out and shattered by Melissa..
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A man looks at a fallen tree in St. Catherine, Jamaica, shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025. Ferocious winds and torrential rain tore into Jamaica Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the worst storm ever to strike the island nation and one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. The extremely violent Category 5 system was still crawling across the Caribbean, promising catastrophic floods and life-threatening conditions as maximum sustained winds reached a staggering 185 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour). (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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A man attempts to secure the roof of his home ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on October 27, 2025. Hurricane Melissa strengthened Monday as it took aim at Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean as a top-level Category 5 storm, with forecasters predicting catastrophic flooding and urging residents to seek shelter immediately. After passing over Jamaica, the storm was forecast to head north and cross over eastern Cuba on Tuesday night, while continuing to bring rain and heavy winds to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A man watches the waves crash into the walls at the Kingston Waterfront on October 27, 2025. Hurricane Melissa threatened Jamaica with potentially deadly rains after rapidly intensifying into a top-level Category 5 storm, as residents scrambled for shelter from what could be the island’s most violent weather on record. Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and was set to unleash torrential rains on parts of Jamaica in a direct hit on the Caribbean island. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
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“Life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding and landslides, and extremely dangerous hurricane winds are ongoing this morning,” the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. “Remain in a safe shelter.”
And now as the hurricane gets ready to move into the Atlantic and impact the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and eventually Bermuda, residents across Jamaica are starting to emerge from their shelters to begin cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of the disaster.
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Powerful winds and heavy rain pummel Montego Bay in northern Jamaica on Tuesday.
Before slamming into Cuba on Wednesday, millions of people across Jamaica had to endure the catastrophic impacts from Hurricane Melissa as it approached the southwestern coast of the island.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, around 1 p.m. Tuesday as a monstrous Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 mph. Hurricane Melissa is now the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, and is tired for the strongest landfalling hurricane on record.
CROCODILES COULD INVADE JAMAICAN NEIGHBORHOODS IN WAKE OF HURRICANE MELISSA FLOODING
A video shared by the Jamaica Constabulary Force shows residents seeking shelter at a police station in Black River as Hurricane Melissa was ravaging the region on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Black River, not far from where landfall occurred, experienced extreme winds from the storm that peeled away roofs and sent debris flying through the air like missiles.
A video shared from the area showed residents taking refuge at a local police station, trying to stay safe as the hurricane was devastating the island.
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray has been on the ground in Jamaica since last week covering preparations and the historic landfall on Tuesday.
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is facing the intense winds and rain bands from Hurricane Melissa after the major hurricane made landfall in Jamaica.
For days, Jamaica’s government has been warning its residents and visitors to make preparations ahead of the monster storm’s landfall, and people have been rushing to stock up on food and water to sustain them through what will likely be long-duration power and communication outages due to the storm’s ferocious impacts.
Ahead of landfall, about 35% of Jamaica was without power.Â
