Hurricane Melissa: 25 dead in Haiti floods; river bursts banks, homes swept away

At least 25 people died in the southern coastal town of Petit-Goave , Haiti after severe flooding from Hurricane Melissa swept through the area, local officials said Wednesday.

Mayor Jean Bertrand Subrème told The Associated Press that the La Digue river burst its banks and flooded nearby homes. Dozens of houses collapsed, and some residents remained trapped under the rubble Wednesday morning.

Only one official from Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency was in the area, as residents struggled to evacuate amid heavy floodwaters.

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Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane with top winds of 185 mph (295 kph), one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record. It then moved on to Cuba, leaving widespread destruction across the Caribbean.

In Jamaica, more than 25,000 people were packed into shelters after the storm ripped roofs from homes and left many temporarily homeless. Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s education minister, said that 77% of the island was without power Wednesday.

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In Cuba, officials reported collapsed houses, blocked mountain roads, and roofs blown off in several regions, with the most destruction in the southwest and northwest. Authorities said about 735,000 people remained in shelters in eastern Cuba. “That was hell. All night long, it was terrible,” said Reinaldo Charon in Santiago de Cuba.

Hurricane Melissa left dozens dead and caused widespread devastation across Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica, knocking out power and forcing thousands from their homes as floodwaters and fierce winds battered the region.