From damaged structures to streets filled with debris, Jamaica continued to recover on Thursday (October 30) after getting hit by Hurricane Melissa, the strongest-ever hurricane to directly hit its shores.

Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday (October 28) with sustained winds of 185 mph, far above the minimum strength for a Category 5, the strongest classification for hurricanes. The capital Kingston was spared the worst damage and its main airport was set to reopen on Thursday.

But U.S. forecaster AccuWeather estimated Melissa could cost $22 billion in damages and economic loss and that rebuilding could take a decade or more. "DEVASTATION," read the front page headline on Thursday's Jamaica Observer newspaper.

On Thursday (October 30) Hurricane Melissa smashed through the northern Caribbean and was seen picking up speed as it churned across open ocean towards Bermuda, leaving a trail of high winds and destruction from Jamaica to Cuba and Haiti in its wake.

Authorities across the region, struggling to keep track of the devastation, confirmed 25 deaths in Haiti - 10 of them children - and four in Jamaica.

Melissa was the Caribbean's third-most intense recorded hurricane, as well as its slowest-moving, which made it particularly destructive, AccuWeather said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA (OCTOBER 30, 2025)(REUTERS - Access all)

1. WIDE OF DAMAGED ROOFS AND STRUCTURES WITH THE CARIBBEAN SEA IN THE BACKGROUND

2. DAMAGED ROOFS

3. PAN OF BUILDING WITH DAMAGED ROOFS AND DEBRIS EVERYWHERE

4. DAMAGED ROOF

5. WIDE OF ENTRANCE OF THE GRAND DECAMERON HOTEL WITH DEBRIS AROUND IT

6. WIDE OF DAMAGED STRUCTURES WITH CARS DRIVING BY

7. PAN OF DAMAGED ROOFS AND A DAMAGED CAR

8. VARIOUS OF DAMAGED STRUCTURES

9. A BIRD IN A TREE LOOKING AROUND

10. WIDE OF DAMAGED PALM TREES AND THE CARIBBEAN SEA IN BACKGROUND