Death Toll from Hurricane Melissa Climbs to 49, Search for Missing Intensifies

The confirmed death toll from Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful and destructive Atlantic storms on record, has tragically climbed to 49 as of Thursday, October 30, with officials in the hardest-hit Caribbean nations continuing search and rescue operations for the missing. The Category 5 hurricane wreaked catastrophic destruction across much of the northern Caribbean this week, leaving a wide swath of devastation, particularly in Jamaica and Haiti.

Casualties and Missing Persons

The majority of the fatalities have been reported in Haiti and Jamaica, with both nations grappling with immense destruction and isolated communities.

• Haiti: The civil defense agency in Haiti, which was not directly hit but suffered days of torrential rains from the slow-moving storm, reported at least 30 deaths and 20 more missing. The town of Petit-Goâve in the southern region was particularly devastated, where a river burst its banks, killing at least 23 people, including 10 children. An additional 20 people were reported injured.
• Jamaica: Jamaica, where Melissa made landfall on Tuesday as a historic Category 5 storm, has confirmed at least 19 deaths, though this number is expected to rise as search and rescue teams reach cut-off areas. The island’s southwestern parishes, including St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland, bore the brunt of the storm’s fury.

The ongoing search for missing individuals is being complicated by widespread flooding, landslides, and infrastructure failure, including downed power lines and damaged communication towers, which have isolated many communities.

Unprecedented Damage and Recovery Efforts

Hurricane Melissa delivered a devastating blow to the region. In Jamaica, it was the strongest hurricane to directly hit the country’s shores since 1988, with officials declaring the entire country a disaster area. Reports indicate that hundreds of thousands were left without power, and in coastal towns like Black River, up to 90% of roofs were reportedly destroyed.

Emergency relief efforts are underway, with the main international airport in Jamaica reopening to allow flights carrying critical aid and supplies to land. US search-and-rescue teams have arrived in Jamaica to assist with the recovery efforts.

Melissa’s path continued through eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm, where extensive evacuations of over 735,000 people ahead of the storm’s arrival are credited with preventing fatalities. The storm has since weakened to a Category 2 and is currently churning in the North Atlantic, having passed by Bermuda.

The scale of the disaster is enormous, with forecasters estimating the total damage and economic loss across the western Caribbean to be in the tens of billions of US dollars. As the region begins the long process of recovery and rebuilding, there are increasing calls from Caribbean leaders for international support and a global focus on climate-related reparations, citing the role of a warming ocean in intensifying such extreme weather events.