Devastation in Jamaica and Cuba: Videos Emerge Showing the Unfathomable Power of Hurricane Melissa

I wrote about my love for the country of Jamaica on Tuesday as the Cat 5 Hurricane Melissa bore down on the Caribbean island, and how the predictions for the level of destruction were absolutely catastrophic.

Unfortunately, many of those predictions soon came true, and now more and more videos are emerging showing the unbelievable power of the storm and the devastation left in its aftermath. In this clip, the coastline looks eerily similar to the wreckage in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, California, following the ruinous January wildfires:

Drone footage reveals the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica’s western coast, where entire communities have been either demolished or isolated.

Read more: https://t.co/0Zo2jEPJOp pic.twitter.com/BlLOWnM3G0
— ABC News (@ABC) October 31, 2025

Thankfully, the extended family I wrote about all survived without serious incident in Kingston, but one is concerned her water-logged roof will collapse at any moment. Numerous roads have all but disappeared, and flooding is everywhere. While we have heard from them sporadically through WhatsApp, the internet has been iffy, and lines of communication and power of all types were felled by the sustained, 185-mile-an-hour winds.

SEE: Monster Hurricane Melissa Slamming Jamaica Right Now, Damage Predictions Are Catastrophic

Entire villages were covered by water, and roads simply disappeared as flooding continued (and is still continuing):

NEW VIDEO: Our field correspondent Josh Morgerman (@iCyclone) is in Black River, Jamaica, one of the hardest hit locations by Hurricane Melissa.

Here's some of the damage he's seeing. 🔽🔽 #Melissa pic.twitter.com/w714bbFU1L
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) October 30, 2025

Many countries, including the USA, have pledged to help with relief efforts as some communities are still cut off:

In Jamaica, government workers and residents began clearing roads in a push to reach dozens of isolated communities in the island’s southeast that sustained a direct hit from one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Stunned residents wandered about, some staring at their roofless homes and waterlogged belongings strewn around them.
“I don’t have a house now,” said Sylvester Guthrie, a resident of Lacovia in the southern parish of St. Elizabeth, as he held onto his bicycle, the only possession of value left after the storm.
Emergency relief flights were landing at Jamaica’s main international airport as crews distributed water, medicine and other basic supplies. Helicopters dropped food as they thrummed above communities where the storm flattened homes, wiped out roads and destroyed bridges, cutting them off from assistance.
“The entire Jamaica is really broken because of what has happened,” Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon said.

Severe damage was captured at Montego Bay International Airport after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica with winds exceeding 185 mph. pic.twitter.com/bplh6w4TTy
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 29, 2025

The storm has accounted for at least 50 deaths so far in the Caribbean among Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

Hurricane Melissa slammed into southwest Jamaica overnight, killing seven and leaving over half a million without power. Officials say 25,000 tourists are stranded as the storm heads toward Cuba, where 700,000 have been evacuated. pic.twitter.com/tj7t3E88t8
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 29, 2025

Cuba is still assessing the damage, but many communities are without electricity, internet, and telephone services, and widespread damage is reported.

Humans often seem to think that we are so advanced that we literally control the weather. Mother Nature has a way of reminding us that there are forces far more powerful than humanity at work in our world. Pray for all those in the affected areas—it’s undoubtedly going to take years in some places to fully recover.