Home / Disasters and Accidents / Guantanamo Bay Evacuates as Hurricane Melissa Intensifies to Category 5
Guantanamo Bay Evacuates as Hurricane Melissa Intensifies to Category 5
26 Oct
Summary
- Guantanamo Bay evacuating 'non-mission essential' US citizens
- Hurricane Melissa strengthens to Category 4, expected to reach Category 5
- Forecasts warn of catastrophic flooding, power outages, and landslides in Jamaica and Haiti
On October 27, 2025, as Hurricane Melissa barrels toward Cuba, the US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay has begun preparations for the powerful storm. The station has announced that all 'non-mission essential' US citizens will be evacuated from the island no later than Sunday morning.
Hurricane Melissa has rapidly strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane and is expected to worsen to a Category 5 by Sunday evening. The National Hurricane Center warns that the storm is undergoing 'extreme rapid intensification,' with winds increasing by 70 mph in just 24 hours.
The forecasted heavy rainfall and slow movement of the storm threaten to cause catastrophic flooding, long-duration power and communication outages, and potentially prolonged isolation of communities in Jamaica and Haiti. The NHC has urged residents to seek shelter immediately, predicting storm total rainfall of 15 to 30 inches, with local maxima of 40 inches possible.
Eastern Cuba is also expected to see 10 to 15 inches of rain by Tuesday, resulting in life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides. The hurricane has already claimed the lives of three people in Haiti, with two killed in a landslide and another after a tree fell on them during heavy rain.
