Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica this week near the coastal town of Black River, which the government has described as “ground zero.”

The hurricane was ranked as a Category 5 storm, the highest level of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, when it reached Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa left a trail of destruction as it moved across Jamaica, seen for the first time from space in new satellite images obtained from Vantor.

When the storm grew into Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, the couple’s flight home was canceled. Unable to book another flight home, with the main airport closed, they were stranded in the storm’s path. They barricaded their room’s windows with furniture, and took shelter in the bathroom.

On October 28, 2025, Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 superstorm with sustained winds of 185 mph, bore down on Jamaica, threatening the island's 2.8 million residents with what officials called "catastrophic" damage.

As airports in Jamaica slowly reopen following Hurricane Melissa, relief efforts are also beginning to pour into the island. From a private hangar at Miami International Airport, one of the first planes bound for Kingston was loaded with hundreds of pounds of supplies coordinated by reggae superstar Norville "Shaggy" Rogers.

Hannah Grubbs, a content creator with over 150,000 followers on TikTok, has been criticized over her Hurricane Melissa videos.

A tourist visiting Jamaica described the record-breaking Hurriane Melissa as "a freight train with a jet engine."