Hurricane Melissa began rampaging through the Caribbean on 21st October 2025, hitting several Caribbean countries including Jamaica, which was amongst those hit the hardest. At the time of writing this article, the island has 45 confirmed deaths, with people still missing.

This category 5 hurricane is the strongest recorded to have made landfall on the island with winds of up to 185mph. As a result discussions have sparked regarding why Hurricane Melissa was so intense.  

In the UK, many people, including myself, have connections to Jamaica. My cousin Tammoi lives in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. But although this is on the western side of the island which was hit quite badly, she thankfully wasn’t as affected by the hurricane.

“While there was some flooding in parts of my community and we lost access to water and electricity for a day or two, I was not heavily affected,” Tammoi tells me. “Compared to what happened in other parts of the West, my situation was mild.”