Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Cuba, CARE prepares to respond to ...

OCTOBER 29, 2025 - Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba early Wednesday morning in the municipality of Guama, about 50 km from the country's second largest city, Santiago de Cuba. Melissa struck as a powerful Category 4 storm bringing sustained winds of 193 km/hour, torrential rainfall and flash flooding to provinces still struggling to recover from last year's hurricanes.

Following the path of destruction it carved through Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, Melissa is now moving slowly eastward across the Cuban provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguin and Guantánamo. The storm was downgraded to a Category 3 and later a Category 2 as it advanced, but continues to damage homes, farms and vital infrastructure in its path. It remains too early to know the full scale or specifics of its impact. Cuban authorities have evacuated over 600,000 people to safe shelters as a preventive measure.

The hurricane's arrival brings added strain to a country already facing immense challenges. "The Cuban people have been living with hardship for a long time," said Valerio Granello, CARE Cuba's Country Director. "They are resilient, but repeated climate catastrophes like this take a heavy toll. We have not yet recovered from the last hurricane season, when two hurricanes hit Cuba within two weeks. Homes, schools, health facilities and roads are still damaged. Amidst this-and the country's continuous power outages, rising cost of food and recent outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue-the impact of Melissa is going to make it even harder for many people to provide and care for their families."

CARE Cuba is coordinating with national authorities and local partners to monitor and assess the situation and determine how best to support communities impacted by the storm once conditions allow. Drawing on its extensive experience responding to natural disasters in Cuba, CARE will work with partners to deliver emergency relief tailored to the most urgent needs of those affected.

"CARE's focus will be on people most at risk-women, children and elderly people-who are often hardest hit in emergencies like this," added Granello "We stand with them and all Cubans and will do everything we can to help them recover and rebuild their lives after this devastating storm."

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Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package ℠, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization working around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. CARE puts women and girls at the centre of our work because we know we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE develops solutions alongside women and girls to lift themselves, their families, and communities out of poverty and out of crisis. CARE works in over 100 countries around the world.

To learn more about CARE Canada, visit care.ca.