- - Hurricane Melissa live updates: At least 30 dead as storm heads to Bermuda

Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY October 30, 2025 at 3:42 AM

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Hurricane Melissa live updates: At least 30 dead as storm heads to Bermuda

Parts of the Caribbean were slowly surveying the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Melissa on Thursday after the storm brought destruction to the region and left dozens of people dead.

Melissa tore through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful storms in history and made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a deadly Category 5 hurricane. By Thursday morning, the storm had weakened as it passed through the Bahamas and makes its way toward Bermuda.

The National Hurricane Center warned that catastrophic flash flooding and landslides would continue in portions of the region. The hardest-hit areas include Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, where damaging winds and severe flooding destroyed homes and tore down utility poles.

Local authorities have begun rescue and recovery operations, but efforts were hampered by widespread power outages, communications failures and blocked roads. The death toll was also growing across the region – with more than 30 deaths attributed to the storm in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic – as authorities continued to assess the number of casualties.

The devastation caused by Melissa drew an outpouring of support from across the world, with some countries pledging support in the form of cash, food aid and rescue teams. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States sent rescue and response teams to areas impacted by the hurricane.

Melissa has strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean on Oct. 25 and could soon rapidly intensify into a monstrous Category 4 or 5 storm, bringing perilous threats of rain, winds and storm surge to northern Caribbean islands.A drone view shows a vehicle driving along a flooded street amid rain caused by Tropical Storm Melissa, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 24, 2025.

" style=padding-bottom:56%>The National Hurricane Center reports Melissa has strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean on Oct. 25 and could soon rapidly intensify into a monstrous Category 4 or 5 storm, bringing perilous threats of rain, winds and storm surge to northern Caribbean islands.A drone view shows a vehicle driving along a flooded street amid rain caused by Tropical Storm Melissa, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 24, 2025.

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The National Hurricane Center reports Melissa has strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean on Oct. 25 and could soon rapidly intensify into a monstrous Category 4 or 5 storm, bringing perilous threats of rain, winds and storm surge to northern Caribbean islands.A drone view shows a vehicle driving along a flooded street amid rain caused by Tropical Storm Melissa, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 24, 2025.

">The National Hurricane Center reports Melissa has strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean on Oct. 25 and could soon rapidly intensify into a monstrous Category 4 or 5 storm, bringing perilous threats of rain, winds and storm surge to northern Caribbean islands.A drone view shows a vehicle driving along a flooded street amid rain caused by Tropical Storm Melissa, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 24, 2025.

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1 / 23Hurricane Melissa slams the Caribbean. See the floods and impact on residents in photosA resident stands at a flooded section of Port Royal in Kingston on Oct. 27, 2025. Hurricane Melissa threatened Jamaica with potentially deadly rains after rapidly intensifying into a top-level Category 5 storm, as residents scrambled for shelter from what could be the island's most violent weather on record. Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and was set to unleash torrential rains on parts of Jamaica in a direct hit on the Caribbean island.Over 30 deaths reported in Haiti, Jamaica and Dominican Republic

Though Melissa did not directly hit Haiti, the Caribbean's most populous nation, the storm battered the island with days of rain. On Wednesday, authorities reported at least 25 deaths, largely due to floods in Petit-Goâve, a coastal town about 40 miles west of the capital, where a river burst its banks.

Jean Bertrand Subrème, the mayor of Petit-Goâve, told the that dozens of homes collapsed in the deluge. People were still trapped under rubble in the area, overwhelming local authorities.

In Jamaica, authorities said flood waters had washed up four bodies in the parish of St. Elizabeth.

"I am saddened to announce that four persons – three men and one woman – have been confirmed dead by the police in St. Elizabeth. They were discovered after being washed up by the flood waters generated by the hurricane," Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica's Minister for Local Government and Community Development, said in a news release.

No deaths were reported in Cuba on Wednesday but President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island had suffered severe damage. Before landfall, authorities reported that the storm had already caused three deaths in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

'I just want to forget it': Jamaicans survey damage from Melissa's path

Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness took an aerial view of the damage in St. Elizabeth on Wednesday. He also visited Black River Hospital, the only public hospital in the parish, where footage showed torn off roofs, power cables knocked down and debris scattered across fields.

Workers at the hospital told the prime minister they spent the night fearing for their own families while working by flashlight to care for patients.

In Montego Bay, 77-year-old Alfred Hines waded barefoot through thick mud and debris and told Reuters he narrowly escaped floodwaters.

“At one stage, I see the water at my waist and (after) about 10 minutes time, I see it around my neck here and I make my escape," he told Reuters on Wednesday.

"I just want to forget it and things come back to normal."

The Jamaican government has given an "all clear" to begin recovery efforts, but said it would keep emergency shelters open through the week as people kept coming in from destroyed homes. McKenzie said over 25,000 people have been admitted.

Contributing: Reuters

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