Photo: RICARDO MAKYN / AFP / Getty Images
The death toll from Hurricane Melissa has climbed to more than 60 across the Caribbean as rescue and recovery efforts continue in the wake of the historic storm, per USA Today.
On Tuesday (October 28), Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane with winds reaching 185 mph, the most powerful storm ever to strike the island.
The Jamaican government has confirmed 28 deaths, while additional fatalities have been reported in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where heavy flooding caused widespread destruction.
“Every single life lost is a huge tragedy,” Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s minister of education, skills, youth, and information, said in a statement. “We have never had a Category 5 hurricane in our country. The devastation in the west is unimaginable.”
Authorities warned that the death toll could rise further as officials continue to assess damage and verify reports from hard-hit areas. Hundreds of thousands remain without power in Jamaica, where homes and infrastructure were severely damaged.
After striking Jamaica, Melissa weakened before making landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm, then passed through the Bahamas and near Bermuda. It dissipated into a post-tropical cyclone off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, on Friday (October 31), the Canadian weather service said.
The storm is now being counted among the strongest and deadliest hurricanes in Atlantic history.
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