Hurricane Melissa hit the eastern end of Cuba after pummeling Jamaica – Image: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
Hurricane Melissa weakened to a Category 1 storm as it begins to batter Bahamas after pummeling Cuba and Jamaica.
Melissa was downgraded to a Category 1 storm on Wednesday afternoon but is still predicted to bring a dangerous storm surge.
“Hurricane conditions, life-threatening storm-surge, and heavy rainfall” is expected across portions of the Bahamas on Thursday evening, according to the latest briefing by the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
At least 25 dead in Haiti flood
Flooding triggered by Hurricane Melissa has left at least 20 people dead and 10 others missing in Haiti, authorities said.
The mayor of the southern Haitian coastal town of Petit-Goave, Jean Bertrand Subreme, told The Associated Press that 25 people had died after La Digue river burst its banks and flooded nearby homes.
“I am overwhelmed by the situation,” Subreme said as he pleaded with the government to help rescue victims.
Dozens of homes collapsed and people were still trapped under rubble as of Wednesday morning, he added.
Emmanuel Pierre, Haiti’s civil defense agency chief, told the AFP news agency that 10 children were among those who died in river floods. Emergency responders were conducting searches for the missing, Pierre added.
Cuba reports ‘extensive damage’ as Hurricane Melissa hits
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Wednesday that Hurricane Melissa had caused “extensive damage” after making landfall overnight on the island’s southern coast.
Diaz-Canel said in a post on social media that it had been “a very difficult early morning” and warned that the storm was still over Cuban territory. He urged citizens to remain cautious, maintain discipline, and stay safely sheltered.
Storm surges of up to 3.6 meters (12 feet) were expected in eastern Cuba even as the storm was downgraded to Category 2.
(DW.com/NAN 30-10-25)
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