The storm was making its way to the Bahamas and Bermuda on Thursday morning as Jamaica confronted the devastation from one of the most potent storms ever recorded anywhere.

Communities across the Caribbean are reeling in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which ripped through Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola, the island comprising Haiti and the Dominican Republic, this week. While officials said that damage assessments remained underway to determine the full scope of the destruction,

In southeastern Jamaica, government workers and residents began clearing roads in a push to reach dozens of isolated communities.

The National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m. Thursday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean, 430 miles west-southwest of Bermuda. The hurricane is moving northeast at 30 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

One viral video shows what appears to be four sharks swimming in a Jamaican hotel’s pool as floodwaters allegedly brought on by Hurricane Melissa swamp the area. Another purportedly depicts Jamaica’s Kingston airport completely ravaged by the storm.

Josh Wurman and Karen Kosiba, the researchers inside the mobile radar unit, noted the average wind inside the hurricane’s eyewall was between 90 and 100 mph; it ramped up to 145 mph during the passage of at least one of these whirls.

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, 10 a.m. ET Article last updated: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, 4 p.m. ET System type: Hurricane, Category 2 System name: Melissa The National Hurricane Center's 4 p.m. Thursday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean,

The news “underscores the profound ecological toll that Hurricane Melissa will have on Jamaica’s biodiversity,” said one expert on the island.