Hurricane Melissa live updates: At least 7 dead across the Caribbean as storm becomes strongest on the planet

Matthew Cappucci, a meteorologist from The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang, recalls his flight into the eye of Hurricane Melissa as “one of the most breathtaking and simultaneously horrifying experiences I’ve ever had” in a CNN interview Monday night.

Jamaica’s Minister for Works, Robert Morgan, has said there’s been 15 reports of Hurricane Melissa’s damage.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness wrote on X Monday night, “Minister Robert Morgan said the Emergency Operations Centre received 15 reports of fallen trees, landslides, and downed power lines, with all but one road reopened, the remaining blockage is near St. Ann’s Bay.”

Hurricane Melissa is now the planet’s strongest storm of the year as it barrels toward Jamaica with powerful Category 5 winds. Melissa will finish turning to the north by the end of Monday and will then officially head towards Jamaica, The Weather Channel’s digital meteorologist Rob Shackelford reported.The storm, which has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning. Parts of Jamaica will see rainfall of 15 to 30 inches through Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.The storm is expected to hit Cuba later Tuesday, and weather warnings have been issued for the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos. At least seven people in the Caribbean have died, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

At least seven people have died in the Caribbean as Hurricane Melissa barrels toward Jamaica.

Jamaica’s health minister, Christopher Tufton, confirmed three people had died because of the storm, which has evolved into a Category 5.

Tufton said at a Monday night news conference one of those dead was a health care worker who was hit by a falling, adding that 13 more people have been injured, per The New York Times.

Three more people in Haiti and another person in the Dominican Republic have also died.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Monday more than 800 shelters are ready as he urged citizens to follow evacuation orders.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force has mobilized 12,000 personnel and has another 2,000 officers on standby in preparation for Hurricane Melissa.

“Be assured that the Jamaica Constabulary Force is fully prepared and dedicated to safeguarding the lives and property of all Jamaicans and guests during this challenging time. We will do everything in our power to support the nation through Hurricane Melissa,” Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Strategic Operations, Warren Clarke, told the country on Monday.

Hurricane Melissa is set to bring “catastrophic and life-threatening” winds, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica starting later tonight, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned in a bulletin Monday night.

The core of the Category 5 storm is expected to move near or over Jamaica by early Tuesday morning.

It will then move across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night and over the southeastern or central Bahamas Wednesday.

Hurricane conditions are also possible in the Turks and Caicos on Wednesday.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has warned of “significant dislocation” as Hurricane Melissa is set to hit the country.

Holness told CNN Monday the storm “could have an impact on our shores, more to the western end of Jamaica,” adding that he doesn’t believe there is “any infrastructure within this region that could withstand a Category 5 storm, so there could be significant dislocation.”

Melissa will finish turning to the north by the end of Monday and will then officially head towards Jamaica, The Weather Channel’s digital meteorologist Rob Shackelford reported.

The storm is expected to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning.

“I urge all Jamaicans and people who are friendly well-wishers of Jamaica, to continue to pray that this hurricane does not hit us directly,” Holness said.

The U.S. embassy in Cuba told citizens Monday to “leave now,” but it’s too late for Americans in Jamaica.

In a weather alert about Hurricane Melissa, the U.S. embassy in Cuba said, “This is a dangerous storm. U.S. citizens potentially in the path of the hurricane should decide whether to leave now or be prepared to shelter in place.”

But leaving is no longer an option for Americans in Jamaica, where the storm is expected to make landfall Tuesday. Melissa will arrive in Cuba later Tuesday.

The U.S. embassy in Jamaica told citizens potentially in Melissa’s path to “shelter in place throughout the storm.”

“Contact your loved ones now to let them know where you are staying and how to best reach you,” the embassy said.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has invoked his predecessor, Fidel Castro, in a warning about Hurricane Melissa, which is set to hit eastern Cuba Tuesday.

“Dear compatriots of eastern Cuba, where #Fidel challenged the dangerous Hurricane Flora and taught us forever what conduct to follow to protect life, which is the most important thing. I ask you to stay alert, be supportive, and not forget discipline in the face of the threat. We will overcome,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X Monday evening.