The Bahamas Meteorology Department reported early Thursday that the storm’s center passed near Inagua and Mayaguana, bringing sustained winds near 85 mph (140 km/h) and gusts exceeding 100 mph in some areas. Authorities ordered mandatory evacuations in low-lying coastal communities amid warnings of storm surges up to seven feet (two meters).
Bahamas authorities issued an alert on Wednesday, but there appears to be little threat to hotel infrastructure or to visitors currently in the Bahamas, as officials have not issued any alerts or responded to media requests.
Melissa formed on October 21 in the eastern Caribbean and rapidly intensified into one of the strongest hurricanes of the 2025 Atlantic season. The storm made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, flattening homes, severing communications, and leaving at least dozens dead before crossing eastern Cuba on Wednesday.
While the storm has weakened over the warm Atlantic waters north of Cuba, meteorologists caution that its slow movement and expansive rain bands still pose major flooding and wind threats to the Bahamian islands.
“Even as a Category 1, Melissa remains a dangerous and unpredictable hurricane,” said the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). “Residents should stay indoors and heed all official warnings until the all-clear is given.”
U.S. and Caribbean relief agencies have begun deploying disaster-response teams and medical aid shipments to Jamaica and Cuba, where infrastructure damage is widespread. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) confirmed Thursday that dozens of relief workers are en route to assist with emergency logistics and recovery operations.
Satellite imagery shows Melissa continuing to move northeast, and forecasters at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expect it to move away from the Bahamas by late Friday, though lingering squalls and flooding are likely to persist into the weekend.
Climate scientists note that Melissa’s rapid intensification — jumping from tropical storm to Category 5 in less than 48 hours — is another sign of how warming ocean temperatures are fueling stronger, faster-developing tropical cyclones.
As the storm churns northward, much of the Caribbean is beginning the grim task of assessing the damage from one of the most powerful hurricanes to strike the region in recent years
