Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Cuba as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
According to NBC News, the storm made landfall near the city of Chivirico in the Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba with sustained winds of 120 mph.
Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane around 1 pm ET on Tuesday and Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the whole island a disaster area. St. Elizabeth Parish was reported to be âunderwater.â
It the most powerful of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall in the Atlntic basin.
Cuban President Miguel DĂaz-Canel BermĂșdez said as the hurricane hit that more than 750,000 people had been evacuated from their homes.
"It will be a very difficult night for all of Cuba, but we will recover, always with the faith in victory that Fidel and RaĂșl instilled in us," he said on X.
At least seven hurricane-related deaths have been reported across the Caribbean: three each in Jamaica and Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic. The three people in Jamaica died in accidents during preparations.
The storm is also expected to cause heavy rain in the southeast Bahamas, with 5 to 10 inches and flooding possible.
