Hurricane Melissa, the first Cat 5 storm to make landfall in Jamaica’s history and among the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, has caused $48 billion to $52 billion in total damage and economic losses, according to AccuWeather’s preliminary estimates.
Hurricane Melissa, with peak winds of 185 mph (298 kph) and a central pressure of 892 mb, surpassed the rare sub-900 mb threshold, last seen with Milton (897 mb) last year.
Jamaica was heavily impacted, with significant wind and rain also affecting Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, resulting in extensive property and infrastructure damage.
Melissa is also expected to bring wind gusts of 40-60 mph to parts of Newfoundland, Canada Friday evening through Saturday morning, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 90 mph.
Search and rescue operations face a daunting task and could take days or weeks to reach some of the most remote and hardest-hit areas, but calmer weather conditions are forecasted across the western Caribbean through the weekend.
“The devastation is heartbreaking. Hours of extreme winds and powerful storm surge, combined with days of torrential rainfall, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Lives have been turned upside down by this storm,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.
Adding: “Many farmers and fishers across the islands were still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl last year, when Melissa hit. Many businesses may be shut down for weeks, months, or even years. Some may never be able to recover.”
Melissa is not only the costliest storm in the Atlantic basin so far this year, but it will also have a lasting impact on hundreds of thousands of people, as well as tourism, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and other industries in Jamaica and across the western Caribbean.
AccuWeather analysts have taken these long-term disruptions into account for their preliminary estimate
Porter said: “Tourism is the backbone of Jamaica’s economy, and it’s a vital source of employment. The tourism industry may take years to fully recover from this storm. The combined costs of evacuation efforts, rebuilding critical infrastructure, extended business shutdowns, travel disruptions, job losses, and long-term medical expenses will be significant and continue to accrue for years in many places; it could be a decade or more in the hardest-hit communities.
“As ocean waters often remain warm, raising the increased risk for major hurricanes, resilience must be central to how and where communities rebuild. For many families in places like Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and rural Jamaica, the cost of rebuilding stronger can remain a challenge.”
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