As of October 27, 2025, Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph and even stronger gusts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The storm poses an extreme threat to millions of people across the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks & Caicos Islands, bringing risks of catastrophic wind damage, flooding, and landslides.
Hurricane Melissa: Facts, FAQs, and how to help
- Fast Facts: Hurricane Melissa
- What is the latest update on Hurricane Melissa?
- How is World Vision helping communities impacted by Hurricane Melissa?
- How can I help people affected by Hurricane Melissa and other disasters?
Fast Facts: Hurricane Melissa
- Hurricane Melissa intensified into a Category 5 on October 27, 2025.
- Maximum sustained winds at 165 mph, with higher gusts, according to NOAA.
- The storm is moving very slowly at 3 mph, which heightens the danger from prolonged heavy rainfall. Forecasts are calling for 15 to 30 inches of rain in Jamaica, with isolated amounts up to 40 inches.
- Millions are at risk of enduring several days of intense weather, including at least 1.6 million children in Jamaica, Haiti, and the surrounding islands.
What is the latest update on Hurricane Melissa?
Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm and was headed for a direct strike on Jamaica, with subsequent threats to southeastern Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, and Turks & Caicos Islands.
As of now, the storm is moving unusually slowly, which raises the risk of prolonged extreme rainfall, flooding, landslides, and catastrophic wind damage.
The storm is currently centered about 145 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, with sustained winds of 175 mph and moving west-northwest at 3 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
According to NOAA’s weather service, the core of Hurricane Melissa “is expected to move over Jamaica tonight and early Tuesday, across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night, and across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.”
How is World Vision helping communities impacted by Hurricane Melissa?
World Vision does not have a presence in Jamaica but does have longstanding operations in Haiti. World Vision’s teams in Haiti are alerting communities through local networks and pre-positioning relief supplies, including food, clean water, and hygiene kits, to help children and families brace the storm.
Haiti remains one of the world’s most vulnerable countries, with nearly 5 million people — half of them children — facing severe hunger. World Vision warns that the hurricane could further devastate food systems and set back recovery efforts amid ongoing violence and displacement.
“Food insecurity has been plaguing Haiti for the past year or so, where more than half of the population is food insecure,” said Guy F. Vital-Herne, communications manager for World Vision in Haiti. “The impact that we are seeing so far of Hurricane Melissa is putting more pressure now on some populations, with many crops being destroyed right now.”
