Jamaica reels from its *strongest-ever hurricane strike* as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa roared ashore Tuesday near New Hope with 185 mph winds and a record-low 892 mb pressure—tying for the Atlantic Basin’s most intense landfall.
Landfall hit ~1 p.m. EDT southwest of Montego Bay. Now a Cat 4 (145-150 mph) emerging north, Melissa’s slow crawl (8 mph) unleashes catastrophic flooding, landslides, and 13-ft storm surge across the island’s west—no infrastructure survives.
Hurricane Melissa landfall, Category 5 Jamaica, 185 mph winds, Jamaica flooding 2025, and Melissa storm surge explode in U.S. searches as power outages hit 480K+ (1/3 island), airports shuttered, roads erased.
Videos stun: Roofs shredded in Black River, raging floods in Santa Cruz/Mandeville, Hurricane Hunters flee 200 mph gusts. X erupts: @WeatherNation (2K views), @nexta_tv (viral montage, 47K+).
PM Andrew Holness: “No infrastructure withstands Cat 5.” 7 dead pre-landfall (3 Jamaica); hospitals damaged, 25K tourists evacuated. Red Cross/Jamaica teams preposition aid; Elon Musk activates FREE Starlink thru Nov.
U.S. hits hard: $10B+ damages forecast—tourism (10% GDP) crushed; 25K Americans affected. FL/GA brace for remnants; insurers eye $145B record losses (w/ CA fires). FEMA/USAID mobilize; Trump: “Prayers—aid incoming.”
Next: Cuba landfall tonight (Guantanamo), Bahamas Weds—restrengthens. NHC: “Life-threatening… total failure.” Recovery? Months/years—Beryl scars reopen.
Pray for Jamaica—historic nightmare unfolds.
By Sam Michael
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