THE AFTERMATH
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CNWEEKLYNE WS.COM
THURSDAY OCTOBER 30, 2025
HURRICANE MELISSA by Keisha Ann Thomas
Jamaica is now grappling with the reality that Hurricane Melissa successfully made landfall and clawed her way across the island. The savage hurricane breached the island’s southwestern border on Tuesday afternoon just before 12 noon, entering near New Hope, Westmoreland as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. The hurricane has gone down in history as the strongest to ever make landfall in Jamaica, causing widespread flooding, landslides, roadblocks and wind damage. The Police have now confirmed 19 deaths directly caused by the storm, as bodies were found in St. Elizabeth following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
Caribbean National Weekly understands that the parishes of St. Elizabeth, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny, Manchester and Westmoreland were all severely impacted, with St Elizabeth suffering most extensively. The eastern parishes were also affected, though to a lesser extent, as flood waters battered the shorelines of St. Thomas and Portland. The capital, Kingston as well as the more central parishes were greatly spared, but not totally without impact. Prime Minister, the Most Honourable, Dr. Andrew Holness toured the island to assess the extent of the damage. Aerial shots of the hurricane ravaged, breadbasket parish, St Elizabeth, were shared on his Facebook page. The images were of a parish ravished by destructive winds and rainfall of unprecedented proportions. Residents have also flooded social media with pictures and images of the destruction in their parishes. continues on A8 – The Aftermath
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