Hurricane Melissa live updates: At least 34 dead as ‘catastrophic’ storm continues to wreak havoc in Bahamas

An influencer is facing backlash over her series of posts complaining about being on vacation in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa batters the region.

The Category 5 storm made landfall Tuesday afternoon in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with winds whipping at 185 miles per hour in what forecasters are calling an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.” At least seven people have died in the Caribbean so far, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

Hannah Grubbs began posting TikTok videos about her trip Friday, including a since-deleted video of her and a friend walking through the airport as text across the screen read, “Us on our way to Jamaica during a hurricane.”

New satellite images have emerged to show the impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica’s southern coast.

Images captured by Vantor show the dramatic transformation of Black River and a fishing village in White House, submerged and scarred by the hurricane’s fury. What were once neat clusters of houses and boats are now muddy expanses of debris and standing water.

Authorities in Jamaica say it could take weeks to fully assess the scale of the damage. The United Nations called the destruction unprecedented, as thousands remain displaced and much of the island struggles with power outages and washed-out roads.

Haiti has reported at least 25 deaths from Hurricane Melissa, even though the powerful storm did not hit the Caribbean’s most populous nation directly.

Days of rain and subsequent flooding in Petit-Goave, a coastal town 64km (40miles) west of the capital, have caused massive destruction after a river burst its banks.

At least 10 children were killed and 12 people remain missing there, Haiti’s disaster management agency said, adding that nationwide more than 1,000 homes have been flooded and nearly 12,000 people have been moved into emergency shelters.

Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of devastation across Cuba after tearing through Jamaica and Haiti as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record.

The storm, which made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of up to 185mph (295kph), weakened slightly before striking eastern Cuba, where it caused collapsed houses, blocked roads and widespread blackouts.

Cuban officials reported severe damage in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Pinar del Río, where roofs were ripped off buildings and power lines were brought down by the violent winds.

More than 735,000 people remain in shelters, according to authorities. Local media showed hospitals and schools damaged, including Santiago’s Juan Bruno Zayas Clinical Hospital, where walls crumbled and glass littered the floors.

“Life is what matters,” said Alexis Ramos, a fisherman in Santiago de Cuba who lost his home to the storm. “Repairing this costs money, a lot of money.”

President Miguel Díaz-Canel said recovery efforts would begin as soon as conditions allowed, but the hurricane is expected to further strain Cuba’s fragile economy, already reeling from food shortages, power outages, and fuel crises.

“It has been a highly complex night, with significant damage reported,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X. “I urge our people to remain vigilant, to uphold discipline, and to continue taking all necessary precautions.”

The country’s National Institute of Hydraulic Resources reported rainfall of up to 15 inches (38cms) in some areas, sparking flash floods and landslides.

Melissa, now downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, was moving north-northeast at about 21 mph (33 kph) late Wednesday, likely to hit the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Authorities in the Bahamas have begun evacuating people from the southeastern islands ahead of Melissa’s expected arrival overnight.

Health authorities in Jamaica have urged people to donate blood to replenish the “critically low” levels of the national supply in the country.

The health ministry said Hurricane Melissa “disrupted routine blood collection drives and has slowed the movement of blood and blood products to hospitals.”

It said the shortage could affect people who need transfusions.

“We are urging all Jamaicans who are able to give blood. Your donation can save lives, especially at a time when hospitals are still in emergency mode and every unit counts,” Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, the chief medical officer of Health for Jamaica, said in the statement.

At least eighteen people are still missing in Haiti as the island begins to recover from Hurricane Melissa.

Haitian officials said Wednesday at least 25 people died in the storm, including children.

Experts say that the storm’s powerful winds and its slow pace, likely exacerbated by climate change, have allowed a huge hurricane to linger in the region for maximum damage.

Hurricane Melissa is currently pounding the Bahamas with “damaging winds, flooding rains, and a dangerous storm surge”, the National Hurricane Center said.

Melissa is expected to continue to move across the southeastern or central Bahamas this evening, and is forecast to pass near or to the west of Bermuda late Thursday and Thursday night, it said.

Dozens of people have already been evacuated from the archipelago’s southeast corner, where conditions have rapidly deteriorated amid widespread power outages and communications breakdowns.

Hurricane Melissa is forecasted to continue moving across the Bahamas on Wednesday evening and pass near Bermuda late Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.

See the storm’s path below: