- It remains a dangerous category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, as it heads for the Island
- “We know that there will be a lot of damage caused by this hurricane,” warns President Miguel Díaz-Canel
14ymedio / Havana/ Holguín, Miguel García, October 28, 2025 — “I have spent the day nailing doors and windows,” a resident of Holguín told 14ymedio. He adds that they are preparing the best they can to survive Hurricane Melissa, although they have not had time to follow the details of its trajectory due to a poor internet connection and blackouts. His house has brick walls, but he doesn’t want anything to surprise him and endanger his family.
Melissa made landfall this Tuesday near New Hope, Jamaica, with sustained maximum winds of 185 mph. A probe was able to capture a burst of 252 mph inside the hurricane. Its central pressure dropped to 892 hectoPascal, so it remains a dangerous category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, as it heads east towards Cuba.
At least 7 people have died so far: 3 in Jamaica, 3 in Haiti and 1 in the Dominican Republic. Authorities fear that the number of casualties may increase as more damage reports come in.
From Jamaica, a Cuban doctor wrote on her social networks: “I tell the people in eastern Cuba: this is too much for Cuba. It is too much for you, my dear people.”
In the municipality of Palma Soriano, province of Santiago de Cuba, Katia, 51 years old, says that no one has slept at home: “We removed the mattresses from the beds and sent them to some neighbors who have a house that is stronger than ours, the same with the refrigerator,” she reports by phone to 14ymedio. The family has set two clear priorities: keeping the children safe and preserving their most valuable assets.
“We are not going to evacuate because here when people leave their homes, the danger of being robbed is high,” she says. “These walls are strong, our problem is the roof: one part is board and the other has a light cover. We’ve blocked the blinds with boards and tried to keep the water tank above the bathroom full, so it doesn’t blow away in the wind. We’re avoiding wasting the rechargeable batteries for our flashlights and mobile phones.
Niurka can listen to local FM radio stations with a headphone attached to her cell phone as an antenna. “This has given us luck because we have had many blackouts in recent days and being informed has been difficult. At least we now know that the creature is coming here and has an impressive size,” she says about Melissa.
In the city of Holguín it’s hard to find something to buy this Tuesday. “Yesterday people stocked up on everything they could. There were lines in front of the MSMEs that sell food, and trucks and tricycles were carrying boxes and large packages,” says Rodolfo, driver of an electric vehicle that transports passengers and goods. He decided not to go to work today, preferring to be employed in reinforcing his home’s security.
“Luckily my little house is attached to others and that protects us,” he explains. ” I spent my life complaining about the neighbors who play their music too loud and sometimes even wake up the kid with their screaming, but today that is the greatest security I have to confront the wind.” In the event that the electricity is cut off for several days and food becomes more scarce, neighborhood solidarity will also be important.
“In previous hurricanes we improvised a pot of soup on the block and that saved us,” he recalls. This kind of support will be more important on this occasion. “There are many old people who are alone in this neighborhood. Some have been evacuated to other houses, but others have no one who can help, so we will take turns looking after them.”
Rodolfo’s sister, a newly graduated doctor, is being evacuated to the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin General University Hospital along with other health workers. “She took a couple of changes of clothes because this can last for a long time.” The tricycle with which he earns his living now occupies most of the space in the room. “Usually I keep it in an open carport outside, but this time I cannot risk it. If a tree falls on top, my way to earn a living is lost.”
His decision coincides with the advice offered on Facebook by an architect in Guatánamo with experience in natural disasters. The expert warns that winds from 155 to 186 mph are strong enough to destroy even houses made of reinforced concrete, so nobody should underestimate their power. He also explains that wood or brick dwellings with thin ceilings are extremely vulnerable, as the wind can tear off roofs and knock down structures, especially in rural areas or isolated buildings. In these cases, the recommendation is to evacuate immediately to someplace safe and not assume that thick or concrete walls will provide protection.
Only concrete dwellings with heavy roofs and in good structural condition could provide some safety if they are away from the shore. In coastal areas or where the sea is at least 656 feet high, even solid houses should be evacuated, as the waves can cause more damage than the wind, says the specialist.
On Tuesday, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who chairs the National Defense Council, released a statement calling on Cubans to avoid deaths and serious damage in the face of the next powerful impact of hurricane Melissa on the east of the island.
We know that there will be a lot of damage caused by this storm, but we will have the capacity to recover in food production, housing, and also in the the economy,” said the president in a message broadcast on state television.
“No one should venture to swim in the swollen rivers; no one should return home from the places of evacuation when the indications for returning or going to the recovery phase have not yet been given in each of the territories,” advised the first secretary of the Communist Party, who described the preparatory work at all levels as “intensive and responsible.”
For his part, José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and recently exiled in Miami, shared a video from Santiago de Cuba where you can hear “the hammering of people trying to secure their homes in order to cope with Hurricane Melissa.” Some 168,900 people have been evacuated in this province to 101 centers set up for that purpose.
Actress Dayana Figueroa, known on social networks as Yaya Panoramix, complained on Facebook that the garbage threatens to cause obstructions in the sewage system of her neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba, “a few blocks from Céspedes Park.” She says that the neighbors called the local authorities, but “they replied that the truck can’t come. There is no fuel and those that work are going to Guamá.” Aware that her neighborhood is often flooded, she concluded, “My family is in danger.”
From Yateras, in Guantánamo, official profiles defend the use of caves in the mountains to house vulnerable people. Meanwhile, Melissa is moving north-northeast and has slightly increased its travel speed by 9 mph. It is expected to lose some strength as it crosses Jamaica and arrive with a lesser category on Cuban soil between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Over the next 24 hours, Melissa should tilt its trajectory further to the northeast, gradually increasing its speed. The external bands of this hurricane are already affecting the eastern region of Cuba, generating showers and rain, which will increase in the afternoon from Camagüey to Guantánamo. Rainfall will be strong and intense, mainly in mountainous areas, with accumulations between 7.5 and 17.7 inches over the next 24 hours.
*Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises [mipyme in Spanish], generally privately operated
Translated by Regina Anavy