Hurricane Melissa Slams Cuba, Heads Toward Bahamas as Inglewood’s Caribbean Community Mobilizes Relief Efforts
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba early Wednesday morning as a powerful Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds, bringing catastrophic flooding and widespread damage to the island just hours after devastating Jamaica, while Caribbean communities across Inglewood and South Los Angeles intensify relief efforts for affected families.
The storm struck near Chivirico, Cuba at 3:10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, unleashing 12 to 18 inches of rainfall across the island with some mountainous areas experiencing up to three feet of rain. Wind gusts reached 120 to 140 mph, and coastal areas faced life-threatening storm surges of 10 to 15 feet.
As of 5:00 a.m. Wednesday, Melissa remained over southeastern Cuba with sustained winds of 115 mph and is expected to make landfall in the Bahamas late Wednesday. Bahamian officials have issued evacuation orders for six islands, including Acklins and Crooked Island, with forecasters predicting storm surges of 5 to 8 feet above normally dry ground.
The death toll from Hurricane Melissa has risen to at least seven people across the Caribbean, including three fatalities in Jamaica during storm preparations, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said his nation had been “ravaged” by the storm’s passage Tuesday afternoon.
In Inglewood and Compton, Caribbean community organizations and churches are coordinating relief efforts for families with loved ones in the affected regions. CORE, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit disaster response organization, is accepting donations to its Emergency Response Fund and has staff on the ground in Haiti with teams preparing to deploy to Jamaica and Cuba.
Local residents with family connections to Jamaica and Cuba report difficulty reaching relatives due to widespread power outages and damaged communications infrastructure. Nearly 15,000 Jamaicans remain in emergency shelters, and approximately 540,000 customers lost electrical service after Melissa’s 185 mph winds tore through southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday.
NBC Los Angeles reported that LA first responders stand ready to deploy to assist hurricane victims as the storm’s destruction becomes clearer. International aid is beginning to flow, with Norway contributing $400,000 and Germany pledging $330,000 through United Nations relief channels.
After passing through the Bahamas, Hurricane Melissa is forecast to curve northward toward Bermuda later this week, though meteorologists caution the storm’s exact path remains uncertain. The World Meteorological Organization has dubbed Melissa the “storm of the century” and the strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica in 174 years.
Community members wishing to support relief efforts can donate to CORE’s Emergency Response Fund or contact local Caribbean community organizations coordinating aid. The Red Cross Movement is also responding throughout the affected Caribbean islands.
This story draws on information from CNN, ABC News, NPR, The Washington Post, AccuWeather, and NBC Los Angeles.
