Cuba prepared for the arrival of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa on Monday (October 27) as the extremely dangerous storm threatens the island's eastern region with catastrophic winds. Melissa is expected to make landfall in Cuba on Tuesday night (October 28).

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel convened the National Defense Council on Sunday (October 26) and emphasized the need for timely evacuations from flood zones and areas below dams to protect both the population and their property.

Workers at the Providencia solar park in Holguin province secured solar panels with ropes as the facility was designed to withstand winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, according to Cesar Sarmiento, representative of the Holguin Electric Company.

Cuban meteorologist Ariel Maturel warned that while Melissa may weaken slightly over Jamaica's mountains, the hurricane could regain strength over warm waters before striking Cuba's eastern region.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Melissa was located about 530 kilometers (330 miles) southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 265 kilometers per hour (165 miles per hour), with hurricane warnings in effect for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

HAVANA, CUBA (OCTOBER 27, 2025) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access All)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) METEOROLOGIST, ARIEL MATUREL, SAYING:

"What are we looking at here? You can see the temperatures just south of Jamaica and south of the eastern region of Cuba as well. Melissa is a Category 5 right now. It should lose some strength when it interacts with Jamaica, especially with Jamaica's mountains. But look at those waters, once it's back out at sea north of Jamaica, it could strengthen again just before it reaches the south of the eastern region. This is a very dangerous hurricane that already represents a real threat to the eastern region. Today and tomorrow will of course be the last days of preparation before this intense and powerful hurricane arrives, which is now Category 5."

HAVANA, CUBA (OCTOBER 26, 2025) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

2. VARIOUS OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE COUNCIL MEETING TO PREPARE FOR HURRICANE MELISSA, COMPRISING MINISTERS AND AUTHORITIES

3. CUBAN PRESIDENT, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, DURING THE MEETING

4. OFFICIALS DURING MEETING

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN PRESIDENT OF CUBA, MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, SAYING:

[SOUNDBITE STARTS OVER SHOTS OF OFFICIALS LISTENING TO DIAZ-CANEL, THEN CONTINUES OVER SHOTS OF DIAZ-CANEL]

"The most important thing is to protect the population. And protecting the population is guaranteed if there's proper evacuation. Anything that's a flood zone, areas below dams, micro-dams, all of that must be protected. All of this must be done in a timely manner. It's very important to protect the population, but also to protect people's property."

HOLGUIN, CUBA (OCTOBER 26, 2025) (CUBAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access All)

6. DRONE SHOT OF THE "PROVIDENCIA" SOLAR PARK

7. SIGN READING (Spanish): "Providencia photovoltaic solar park"

8. VARIOUS OF WORKERS SECURING SOLAR PANELS

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HOLGUIN ELECTRIC COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE, CESAR SARMIENTO, SAYING:

"It's a design that has been planned and, according to Cuban standards, the park must be able to withstand winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour."

10. VARIOUS OF WORKERS SECURING SOLAR PANELS WITH ROPES

11. DRONE SHOT OF SOLAR PARK