PAHO Regional Situation Report 2 - Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October as a Category 5 storm, causing severe regional impacts across Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.

The storm has heavily disrupted health systems, resulting in damaged hospitals, power and water outages, and limited access to essential health services. Response operations remain constrained by blocked roads, flooding, and restricted airport and port access. 

Report Highlights

Jamaica: Extensive damage to hospitals (11 hospitals, including 5 major hospitals severely damaged) and health centers (n= 43), with power outages, and impacts to water systems affecting emergency services, inpatient care, surgical capacity, and imaging and laboratory services; 32 deaths confirmed, with 2,868 people in shelters.

Haiti: Flooding and landslides caused 43 deaths, mainly in Petit-Goâve, Ouest Department, and major damage to houses and infrastructure. Damage to roads limits the delivery of humanitarian services to shelters and communities and impacted water systems heighten the risk of waterborne disease.

Cuba: Widespread destruction, flooding, and disruption to essential services was reported, with 730,000 people evacuated and 120,000 remaining in shelters. Severe disruption to electricity, water, and telecommunications has been reported. Extensive healthcare facilities damaged.