Hurricane Melissa dissipates, leaving 50 dead and severe damage in the Caribbean Environment and climate

Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded to sweep the Caribbean, is beginning to dissipate after wreaking devastation across much of Jamaica, isolating communities in Cuba and inundating Haiti, leaving at least 50 people dead.

Meteorological centers confirmed that as of 11 a.m. (15:00 GMT) on Friday, Melissa had become a post-tropical cyclone, with maximum sustained winds of 137 kilometers per hour, heading northeast toward Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

Experts noted that Melissa was the strongest storm ever to directly hit Jamaica, and the first major hurricane to do so since 1988. The company estimated, “Accuweather“US Weather Forecast estimates economic damage and losses in the Western Caribbean region at between $48 billion and $52 billion.”

Last Tuesday, Melissa struck southwest Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, destroying many areas that had previously been struck by Hurricane Beryl last year.

The Jamaican Information Minister confirmed on Friday that at least 19 people had been killed, but indicated that there were indications that more bodies had been recovered. She added that electricity is still cut off for about 462,000 people, and that emergency food distribution operations have begun.

In Haiti, which was not directly exposed to the hurricane, but suffered days of heavy rain caused by the slow-moving storm, the authorities announced the death of at least 31 people and the loss of 20 others.

At least 23 people, including 10 children, died in the town of Petite Goave (southern Haiti) when a river overflowed its banks. Roads, homes and agricultural lands were also damaged by the rain.

The head of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council said: “It is a sad moment for the country. In addition to the dead and missing, there is massive material damage with homes destroyed, fields flooded, livestock lost, and roads cut off.”

The Haitian authorities also warned of the risk of the cholera epidemic appearing again in the country, as it happened in 2022, and this epidemic is often spread through contaminated water.

In Cuba, Melissa struck as a Category 3 hurricane and no deaths were recorded as of Friday, although it caused severe damage to homes, roads and crops. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated from eastern Cuba and the areas surrounding the island’s second largest city, Santiago de Cuba.

“The situation on the ground can only be described as catastrophic,” Brian Bogart, director of the World Food Program for the Caribbean, said in a press conference after visiting the Black River in Jamaica. “It looks as if a bomb exploded in this community, and people are still in shock.”

The American weather forecasting organization AccuWeather said that Hurricane Melissa is the third strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Caribbean, as well as the slowest moving, which exacerbated the damage in the affected areas.

Scientists confirm that hurricanes intensify at a faster and greater rate as a result of rising ocean water temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions.

Caribbean island countries often suffer from hurricanes and storms. A number of regional leaders have called on rich countries, which cause significant pollution, to provide compensation in the form of aid or reduce their debt burdens.