Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica on Tuesday, prompting the prime minister to declare the country a disaster area, after the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.

Hurricane Melissa was hitting eastern Cuba hard early Wednesday after slamming Jamaica as a Category 5 storm. Maps show its forecast path.

There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said ahead of the storm's landfall.

Article last updated: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, 7 a.m. ET

Hurricane Melissa barreled into Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm with some of the fastest winds and strongest intensities ever recorded. The storm blew through the Caribbean island’s southwestern coast,

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has made landfall already in Jamaica and Cuba, as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday as a category five storm in Jamaica, where thousands of people remain without power. It was the strongest storm to have hit the country, with sustained winds of 185mph (298kph).

Hurricane Sandy devastated Jamaica before turning north and hitting the East Coast of the United States. Shaun Donovan, the chair of the Obama administration's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss the approach to rebuilding after devastation.