Hurricane Melissa was expected to bring severe damage as it makes landfall on Tuesday (October 28)

in Jamaica with storm surges, flash floods and landslides .

The Category 5 storm, the strongest possible on the Saffir-Simpson scale, will bring wind gusts of over 300 km per hour (186 miles per hour) and widespread devastation to the island, where authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center expects the storm to hit Jamaica early on Tuesday, and then cross eastern Cuba to move over the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos by Wednesday.

Melissa's slow movement over unusually tepid Caribbean water had contributed to its ballooning size and strength, NHC forecasters said, threatening Jamaica with days of never-before-seen catastrophic winds and rain.

The International Federation of the Red Cross said up to 1.5 million in Jamaica were expected to be directly affected by the storm.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA (OCTOBER 28, 2025) (REUTERS -ACCESS ALL)

1. VIEW OF OCEAN SIDE COMMUNITY WITH PALM TREES BLOWING ON THE INCREASING WINDS

2. CLOSE UP OF TREES BENDING IN STRONG WIND GUSTS

3. WIDE OF SCENE

4. VIEW OF OCEAN CURRENT AND OCEAN-FRONT PROPERTY

5. VIEW OF STRONG OCEAN CURRENT

6. WIDE OF SCENE AND PAN TO WIND BLOWING THROUGH PALM TREES

KINGSTON, JAMAICA (OCTOBER 28, 2025) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

7. VARIOUS OF WIND GUST BLOWING THROUGH PALM TREES

8. THICK CLOUD COVER OVER COMMUNITY AS HURRICANE MELISSA NEARS