Tourists pray for their lives as 175mph Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica: ‘Scared’ families take shelter as hotels prepare for island’s worst ever storm that is expected to wreak ‘catastrophic’ damage

Tourists stranded in Jamaica have been left fearing for their lives as the island braces for the world’s most powerful storm this year, which forecasters expect will create catastrophic flooding, deadly landslides and 175-mph winds.

Hurricane Melissa strengthened to Category 5 (maximum strength) on Monday and is already battering the coast with ‘life-threatening hurricane-force winds’ and damaging waves.

Deadly Melissa is expected to dump 40 inches of rain on parts of Jamaica over the next four days, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) as resorts and hotels across the island prepare to take on the brutal power of the tropical storm.

As the hurricane approaches, holidaymakers in Jamaica are sharing updates on social media as Melissa scrambles for safety before devastating landfall.

One tourist said she was “really scared” and “praying for all of Jamaica”, while another said many felt “anxious” as they waited for the storm to hit.

Hotel staff across the island are blocking doors with wooden planks, taping windows, removing lights and cleaning pools as they try to limit the threat Hurricane Melissa brings later today.

The resorts’ restaurants and beaches were completely closed to the public, while tourists were moved from their ground floor rooms to rooms upstairs, further away from the ‘dark and angry’ sea.

Holidaymaker Rebecca Chatman told BBC Radio 4 this morning that she “didn’t feel safe” as she and her children scrambled to find shelter at their resort just 30 minutes from Montego Bay.

Resorts across the island began boarding up doors and windows in preparation for the storm to hit

Light fixtures were removed from buildings in preparation for the island’s worst-ever storm

Hurricane Melissa reached Category 5 status on Monday. The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will hit Jamaica, home to nearly three million people

‘It’s never looked like the Caribbean sea, it looks very dark and angry, very foreboding, there’s a strange rumbling sound coming from the horizon, ominous, eerie, strange,’ he said.

Hanna Mcleod, a 23-year-old hotel receptionist in Jamaica’s capital Kingston, said that she boarded up the windows of her house where her husband and brother were staying.

He stocked up on corned beef and mackerel and left candles and flashlights around the house.

‘I told them to keep the door closed,’ he said. ‘I’m definitely worried. ‘This will actually be my first time experiencing this type of hurricane.’

Now fears are growing that a 4-foot storm surge will flood a major airport in Jamaica, potentially leaving tourists stranded for longer when the storm passes.

BBC science correspondent Thomas Moore said that Norman Manley International Airport, located on the south coast of Jamaica, could be flooded because the runway is only three meters above sea level.

‘If this is under three feet of water, how quickly will this water dissipate even if the hurricane is over? “How quickly can they deliver aid flights, doctors and emergency teams who have not been able to enter since the airport closed at the weekend?” he said.

The storm, which is blamed for three deaths in Jamaica and four in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is moving alarmingly slowly and is feared to cause prolonged torrential rains and widespread destruction in the regions.

The NHC warned that this could cause “total structural failure” as well as “catastrophic flooding and multiple landslides.”

It also warned that failure to take immediate action could result in ‘serious injury or significant loss of life’.

The NHC said Melissa is now about 140 miles southwest of the capital, Kingston, with sustained winds of 175 mph. It was moving in a ‘north-northeast’ direction at 2 miles per hour.

A home damaged by Hurricane Melissa headwinds at Hellshire Fishing Beach in Portmore, Jamaica, October 27, 2025

Hurricane Melissa will make landfall in Jamaica as the strongest hurricane to hit the island since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

The government has called for extra caution for ‘high altitude areas’ of Jamaica, where wind speeds could be up to 30 per cent stronger, and has already ordered evacuations for parts of Kingston and vulnerable communities across the island.

NHC director Michael Brennan warns Jamaicans: ‘Do not go out due to life-threatening flooding and multiple landslides expected through Tuesday.’

He advised ‘not to be conspicuous when passing over your area’. Melissa’s forward speed will increase and the eye will begin to move very quickly across the island.’

In a post on X, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged “every Jamaican to prepare, stay indoors during the storm, and follow evacuation orders.”

‘We will weather this storm and rebuild stronger,’ he wrote.

‘You have been warned. “It’s now up to you to use that information to make the right decision,” he told CNN in a briefing. “I don’t believe there is any infrastructure in this area that can withstand a Category 5 storm, so there could be significant displacement.”

He also stated at a press conference that he was ‘on his knees and praying’, adding that he was in contact with world leaders.

‘It seems the whole world is praying for Jamaica,’ he said.

Crews on the island are working to restore power before Melissa makes landfall after the Jamaica Public Service said more than 52,000 customers were affected by the power outage.

“We are working to connect remaining customers, but heavy rain and difficult terrain in some areas are creating access challenges,” he added.

‘The safety of our team and the public is our priority. We are with you. Please stay safe and stay inside.’

But despite warnings to shelter in place, some insist on staying in their communities that may be prone to flooding.

‘I hear what they say, but I’m not going,’ said Noel Francis, a 64-year-old fisherman who lives on the beach in Old Harbor Bay, the southern town where he was born and raised. ‘I can manage myself.’

His neighbor, Bruce Dawkins, also said he had no plans to leave his home.

After reaching Jamaica, the hurricane is expected to continue northward into eastern Cuba and across the southeastern or central Bahamas.

The Bahamas will experience hurricane conditions on Wednesday, and tropical storm conditions will occur in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday.

It is known that at least three people died and hundreds of houses were flooded in Haiti as Melissa brought heavy rain to the island of Hispaniola.

One person also died in the Dominican Republic, located in the east of Hispaniola.

Local media reported that the victim was a 79-year-old man who was swept away by floodwaters in the capital Santo Domingo.

A 13-year-old boy who was swept away by a strong current while swimming in the sea was also reported missing.

Many people who were trapped in their vehicles due to rising flood waters were rescued.