Heartbreaking Melissa aftermath

October 31, 2025
Nicholas Vince surveys the shattered shacks at Salem Fisherman Beach, St Ann, left in ruins after the hurricane swept through the area.
Nicholas Vince surveys the shattered shacks at Salem Fisherman Beach, St Ann, left in ruins after the hurricane swept through the area.
Debris-strewn roads on Spur Tree Hill in Manchester show the violent trail left by Hurricane Melissa.
Debris-strewn roads on Spur Tree Hill in Manchester show the violent trail left by Hurricane Melissa.
Harbour Lane in Falmouth, Trelawny, lies buried under fallen branches and wreckage, a grim reminder of Melissa’s Category 5 fury.
Harbour Lane in Falmouth, Trelawny, lies buried under fallen branches and wreckage, a grim reminder of Melissa’s Category 5 fury.
Fallen trees crush a business in Ocho Rios, St Ann, leaving property damaged and livelihoods at risk following Hurricane Melissa.
Fallen trees crush a business in Ocho Rios, St Ann, leaving property damaged and livelihoods at risk following Hurricane Melissa.
Homes and vehicles submerged on Gibson Close, Mandeville, Manchester, as flash flooding from Melissa turned streets into impassable waterways.
Homes and vehicles submerged on Gibson Close, Mandeville, Manchester, as flash flooding from Melissa turned streets into impassable waterways.
Tree limbs rest heavily on a parked car in St Elizabeth, evidence of the destructive winds that battered the parish.
Tree limbs rest heavily on a parked car in St Elizabeth, evidence of the destructive winds that battered the parish.
Micah Williams of Flagaman, St Elizabeth, shows the remnants of his roof, torn apart by Hurricane Melissa’s Category 5 winds.
Micah Williams of Flagaman, St Elizabeth, shows the remnants of his roof, torn apart by Hurricane Melissa’s Category 5 winds.
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With ferocious Category 5 winds reaching 185 mph (295 kph), Hurricane Melissa ripped through Jamaica on Tuesday, leaving a trail of devastation from parish to parish.

Streets overflowed with debris, homes were smashed or submerged, and vehicles lay overturned like discarded toys. Panic and heartbreak have swept through communities as blocked roads and downed communication lines cut residents off from loved ones. Entire communities have been thrown into chaos, their streets unrecognisable and lives upended in an instant.

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