The most powerful Atlantic hurricane of 2025 has plowed into Jamaica after days of unleashing heavy rain, strong winds and pounding surf across the Caribbean. The Category 5 storm was at peak strength when it roared ashore on Tuesday.

Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It was the first time an Atlantic storm made landfall as a Category 5 since Hurricane Dorian in 2019. It made a second landfall near Chivirico, Cuba, at 3:10 a.m. EDT Wednesday as a Category 3 storm.

Kingston, Jamaica's capital, was spared the worst of the hurricane, but western parts of the island experienced "total devastation," according to Daryl Vaz, the Jamaican Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications. Offi

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