Hurricane Melissa Situation Report #2

Emergency Manager's Weekly Report
Oct 29
2 min read

Storm Highlights:

Hurricane Melissa is a Category 1 storm and is 80 miles southeast of the Central Bahamas:

· The storm is moving northeast at 16 MPH.

· A hurricane warning is in effect for the Southeastern and Central Bahamas and Bermuda.

· A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

· An accelerating northeastward motion is expected during the next few days. On the forecast track, the core of Melissa is expected to move across the southeastern or central Bahamas this evening, and is forecast to pass near or to the west of Bermuda late Thursday and Thursday night.

Jamaica Highlights:

· The storm made landfall as a category 5 hurricane very close to Black River city in St. Elizabeth Parish.

· At least 6,000 people are currently displaced with 800 shelters currently open.

· Health centers throughout the country are closed until further notice.

· Hospitals are open for emergency care only.

· Airport Status:

o A relief flight was scheduled for October 29^th at the Norman Manley International Airport.

o The Ian Fleming International Airport is anticipated to resume receiving commercial flights on October 30^th.

o The Sangster International Airport will receive a relief flight on October 30^th. The resumption of commercial flights will resume pending a damage assessment.

· Digicel Jamaica has deployed teams to begin restoring the island’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Cuba, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Highlights:

· Cuba evacuated 750,000 people prior to the impact of the storm.

· At least three people have died due to the storm.

· Two people have been killed in the Dominican Republic and 1.8 million people are being affected by the storm.

· The Pacific Disaster Center on October 29^th released an anticipated impact assessment, below are the highlights:

o An estimated 5,980 people are exposed, this includes 777 vulnerable individuals.

o The impacted population will require 1.63 million calories and 2,330 liters of water per day.

International Assistance Highlights:

· The United Kingdom is mobilizing $510 million in emergency humanitarian funding to support the affected countries.

· On October 29^th, the U.S. State Department reported that they are deploying a regional Disaster Assistance Response Team and two Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams:

o The USAR teams being deployed are USA-1 from Fairfax County, VA and USA-2 from Los Angeles County, CA.

Sources:

· National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Melissa

· Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa Relief Website

· The Caribbean - Hurricane MELISSA, update (GDACS, NOAA, IOM, CDEMA, IFRC, media) (ECHO Daily Flash of 29 October 2025)

· Los Angeles County Fire Department Facebook Page

· Virginia Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Facebook Page

· Jamaica Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Twitter Page

· Jamaica Ministry of Health & Wellness Twitter Page

· U.S. Department of State Twitter Page

· National VOAD Twitter Page

Resources