MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Hurricane Melissa has left parts of Jamaica in ruins after tearing through the island Tuesday, ripping roofs from buildings and leaving major airports severely damaged.
New footage shows the roof of Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay completely ripped apart, with water pouring through the collapsed structure and flooding the passenger terminal where families once gathered to travel.
“The Storm of the Century”
With winds reaching up to 185 mph, Melissa has been described as “The Storm of the Century.”
Officials have since declared Jamaica a disaster zone, as the full extent of the damage continues to unfold.
Both of the island’s main international airports — Sangster International in Montego Bay and Norman Manley International in Kingston — remain closed until further notice.
Loss and Destruction Across the Caribbean
According to The Independent, seven people have died so far across the region — three in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic.
The Category 5 hurricane left behind a trail of collapsed homes, flooded streets, and crippled infrastructure, before moving northwest toward Cuba, where it made landfall early Wednesday morning.
A Nation Picking Up the Pieces
Rescue operations are underway across Jamaica as emergency teams work to assess the damage and provide aid to affected communities.
With power still out for hundreds of thousands and major hospitals reporting severe damage, the country faces a long and difficult recovery ahead.
“Melissa may have passed,” one emergency worker said, “but for Jamaica, the storm is far from over.”
