'Let us keep Jamaica in our thoughts & prayers'- Office of the Premier
Jamaican officials issued dire warnings Saturday, October 25, 2025, as Hurricane Melissa was poised to become the strongest storm ever recorded there.
Melissa reached Category 4 status Sunday morning, October 26, 2025, with maximum sustained winds near 140 mph, the National Hurricane Centre said in an advisory, warning of "life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides" in portions of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week.
Forecasters said Saturday that Melissa was likely to achieve Category 5 status within 48 hours, with sustained winds of at least 157 mph.
The Office of the Premier said the Virgin Islands should stand in solidarity with Jamaica, especially having endured monster hurricanes Irma and Maria.
“We remember the devastation our territory endured in 2017 with Hurricanes Irma and Maria; two of the most powerful storms in our history.
“Today, we stand in solidarity with the people of Jamaica as they prepare for Hurricane Melissa. Let us keep Jamaica in our thoughts and prayers during this challenging time,” the Office of the Premier stated this morning on social media.
‘Nowhere that will escape the wrath of this storm’
At Category 4 strength, Melissa would be the strongest recorded storm to ever pass over Jamaica, according to Evan Thompson, the principal director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.
“There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this storm,” he said.
Jamaica’s Meteorological Service warned in a statement Saturday that in the next few days, “Catastrophic flash floods and landslides are likely.”
Hurricane conditions Sunday and Monday are likely to include dangerous waves and a life-threatening storm surge of 7 to 11 feet along the country’s southern coast, it said.
Deaths reported
In Haiti, two people died Thursday in a landslide near Port-au-Prince and an elderly man was killed by a falling tree in Marigot, the Haitian Civil Protection Agency said.
In the Dominican Republic, more than 500,000 people have already lost water service amid downed trees and traffic disruptions.
A man trying to clean a sewer in Santo Domingo was swept into it and pronounced dead, said Julian Garcia, of the country’s Centre of Emergency Operations. A child who went outside to bathe in the rain in Santo Domingo may have been swept into the sea, Garcia said, and a search was underway.
About 90 residents have evacuated from Saona Island, off the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, as a precaution due to the storm, the country’s Civil Defence agency announced on Facebook Saturday.
The Guantánamo Province’s government has ordered the evacuation of 145,000 people in eastern Cuba. Cuban regional television broadcaster Solivision reported that school is cancelled in the province through the end of next week.
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6 Responses to “'Let us keep Jamaica in our thoughts & prayers'- Office of the Premier”
Would the message mean something different if it came from the "Premiers Office"?
If for any reason they, the Jamaican people have need of support, especially urgent support, let us all gather, arrange, and rush (send) to them our love-help as soon as possible, without delay.