Special for followers of codigopostalrd.net
Current status of Hurricane Melissa, as of 6:31 p.m. EDT, October 25, 2025
Hurricane Melissa, formerly Tropical Storm Melissa, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane this afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (145 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 974 mb (974 mb).
The center of the storm is located approximately 130 mph (209 km/h) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica (16.6° N, 75.5° W), and is moving slowly westward at 3 mph (4.8 km/h).
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 mi (257 km), already affecting portions of Jamaica, while hurricane-force winds are limited to a small radius of approximately 15 mi (24 km) from the center.
Satellite imagery shows a large convective surge enveloping the eastern region, indicating ongoing rapid intensification.
Melissa has already caused significant disruption in the northern Caribbean due to its slow movement, allowing heavy rains to stall and saturate the region for several days.
Torrential rains have triggered flash flooding and catastrophic landslides, particularly in the southwest of the peninsula, Haiti.
At least three deaths have been confirmed, two of them due to landslides. More than 20 communities are isolated by flooding, with widespread damage to infrastructure.
In the Dominican Republic, nearly 200 homes have been damaged or destroyed, primarily in southern areas such as Santo Domingo and Bani, where flash floods have created walls of water that devastate neighborhoods.
Water supply systems serving more than 500,000 customers are disrupted, trees and traffic lights are down, and small landslides have occurred.
An additional 20 to 35 cm of rain are expected through Sunday night, exacerbating the isolation in more than two dozen communities.
In Jamaica, tropical storm-force winds and heavy rainfall (up to 50 cm so far in eastern areas) have begun to impact the island, with preliminary reports of flooding in low-lying areas.
Airports are preparing for closure, and more than 650 emergency shelters have been activated. No fatalities have yet been reported, but power outages and road closures are occurring in southern parishes such as St. Elizabeth and Clarendon.
The broader consequences include travel disruption (for example, flight cancellations affecting passengers bound for Florida), economic pressure caused by infrastructure damage, and increased vulnerability in steep and mountainous terrain that amplifies flooding and landslides.
The storm’s slow onset—similar to Melissa’s in 2019—has prolonged exposure, turning routine rainfall into life-threatening events.
