(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica early Tuesday afternoon as a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph — the most powerful hurricane to strike the Caribbean island nation and one of the strongest on record in the Atlantic Basin.

The storm is anticipated to bring catastrophic winds, rain, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica, where residents and tourists are sheltering in place.

But the island is no stranger to dealing with destructive storms. Several hurricanes over the past several decades have struck Jamaica, causing fatalities and billions of dollars of damage.

Hurricane Beryl: July 3, 2024
Hurricane Beryl — the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season — battered Jamaica when it passed just south of the island as a Category 4 storm.

Beryl slammed the island with up with 130 mph winds, between 8 inches and 12 inches of rainfall and a storm surge that sent ocean water rushing into coastal areas, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The storm ripped roofs off of buildings and sent several feet of floodwater onto roadways in low-lying areas.

At least four people died in Jamaica as a result of the storm, three due to freshwater flooding and one due to rain, while more than 1,000 people were evacuated to shelters, according to officials.

In the aftermath of the storm, about 60% of the island was without electricity, and 20% of the population lacked access to clean water due to the storm’s impact on the piped water network, according to a situation report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Healthcare on the island was also compromised, with 82 healthcare facilities reporting major damage. Minor damage was reported at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

Beryl’s damage was especially extensive in rural parts of Jamaica, where debris from destroyed homes littered the landscape and banana and coconut farms were severely damaged, according to the United Nations. An estimated 45,000 farmers were impacted, with $15.9 million in damage done to farming infrastructure that led to food shortages, according to the report.

The storm tallied about $995 million in damage to infrastructure, homes and in lost revenue, according to the National Hurricane Center. Beryl caused also caused a 1.1% drop in Jamaica’s GDP, according to the U.K.’s Centre for Disaster Protection.

Beryl was the strongest storm to hit Jamaica since Hurricane Dean in 2007, Rhea Pierre, disaster manager for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in the aftermath.

Hurricane Dean: Aug. 20, 2007
Hurricane Dean passed just south of Jamaica on Aug. 20, 2007, bringing powerful winds, heavy rains and storm surge to the region.

The storm was so strong that there are “few authoritative observations” for its passage over Jamaica because many of the instruments did not survive the storm, according to the NHC.

The weather station tower at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston was blown over the day before the storm passed the island, and numerous rain gouges were either blown over or washed away.

The highest rainfall report was 13.5 inches in Manchester Parish in West-Central Jamaica, according to the NHC.

The NHC estimates that Dean was a Category 3 hurricane when it impacted Jamaica, with maximum sustained winds of 111-129 mph, per the Saffir-Simpson scale. The most severe impacts were reported in the southeastern parishes of Clarendon, St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew. About two-thirds of the homes that were completely destroyed or required major repairs were located in those parishes.

Agriculture was also significantly impacted, particularly the banana crops, according to the NHC.

Six people died in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Dean, according to the University of West Indies.

The storm caused damage in all 13 of the island’s parishes, according to USAID. More than 3,120 homes were damaged, while a significant portion of the island’s farmland was also affected, with about 40% of the sugarcane crop, 75% of coffee trees and 100% of the banana crop impacted.

Hurricane Gilbert: Sept. 12, 1988

Before Melissa, Hurricane Gilbert was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall on Jamaica.

The massive storm made landfall on the island’s east coast near Kingston around 1 p.m. on Sept. 12, 1988, as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

The eye of the hurricane traversed the entire island, with its winds weakening only to 125 mph by the time is exited Jamaica’s western coast several hours later. The storm triggered a massive storm surge, mudslides and heavy rains that caused inland flash flooding, according to the NWS.

At least 45 deaths were attributed to Gilbert, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The eye of the hurricane traversed the entire island, with its winds weakening only to 125 mph by the time is exited Jamaica’s western coast several hours later. The storm triggered a massive storm surge, mudslides and heavy rains that caused inland flash flooding, according to the NWS.

At least 45 deaths were attributed to Gilbert, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Gilbert damaged 40% of Jamaica’s agricultural fields and 95% of the island’s medical facilities, according to Hurricanes: Science and Society. Two of Jamaica’s hospitals were completely destroyed, while only two of those remaining escaped with minimal damage. In addition, about 50% of the island’s water supply was destroyed, including storage and distribution facilities.

More than 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, as were hundreds of miles of roads and highways, The New York Times reported at the time.

The destruction amounted to an estimated $4 billion in damages to crops, buildings, roads, homes and other infrastructure, according to Hurricanes: Science and Society.

Jamaica Prime Minister Edward P. G. Seaga described Hurricane Gilbert at the time as “the worst disaster in our modern history.”

Hurricane Charlie: Aug. 17, 1951
The center of Hurricane Charlie skirted the southern coast of Jamaica on the night of Aug. 17, 1951, before it made landfall early the next morning as a strong Category 3 storm, bringing destructive winds to the entirety of the island, according to the NHC. The strongest winds at Kingston were measured at 110 mph.

Heavy rainfall that lingered after the hurricane passed caused landslides across the island, according to the University of West Indies.

Charlie was the deadliest storm of the 20th century to impact Jamaica, resulting in more than 150 deaths on the island, according to the NHC. About 2,000 people were homeless in the storm’s aftermath.

The hurricane caused about $50 million in property and crop damage to the island, according to the NHC. Banana farms, coconut plantations and citrus groves perished in the storm.

Considerable damage was also done to shipping in the Kingston Harbor, with five large vessels pushed ashore, according to the University of West Indies.

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