Image source, PBC Jamaica/YouTube

We're continuing to hear from Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica's National Meteorological Service.

He says the hurricane is no longer a threat to Jamaica, but there is a flash flood watch in place.

The danger of flash flooding is primarily in the northern part of the island, he adds, which should expect more rain.

Authorities are now moving to the recovery phase, he says.

We're listening to officials giving a briefing on the developing situation in Jamaica now.

Dr Dana Morris Dixon, a local minister, begins by saying that it looks "really, really difficult" in parts of the country, with "devastating" images emerging.

She continues: "But we are a strong people, we are a resilient people and we will get through this together."

Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica's National Meteorological Service, is next up in providing an update and says this was the first storm of its kind in the history of Jamaica.

"We have been through it," he says.

Thompson confirms a tropical storm warning, which had remained in place overnight, has now been lifted for Jamaica but warns that the country is still in an "unstable situation".

The edge of the weather system could continue to bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of Jamaica as the day wears on, he says.

We're now getting an update from Jamaican authorities on how things look this morning, after Hurricane Melissa - the strongest storm to hit the country - made landfall on Tuesday.

We'll be hearing from Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica's National Meteorological Service, local government minister Desmond Mckenzie and Richard Thompson, acting general of Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness.

We'll be bring you the key lines from the press briefing here, but you can also follow by pressing watch live above.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Rovier Mesa Rodríguez

I've been speaking to Rovier Mesa Rodríguez, a video maker who lives in Santiago de Cuba, a part of the island that was battered by Hurricane Melissa.

"The night was terrifying," he says. "There was a lot of wind and rain, it sounded like a tornado. I was awake all night."

He says it still feels too dangerous to go out of the house because of the wind and rain - opening the front door, he says, still presents too much of a risk for him.

His house was spared significant damage, Rodríguez says, but his mother - who lives in another part of town - wasn't as lucky. Her home was flooded, but she's still sheltering a few people.

Her neighbours are trying to help remove the water from the house, he says.

Meanwhile, outside his own home, he says people are starting to clean up fallen trees.

Image source, Getty Images

Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba this morning with 115mph winds and heavy rain, but it has now moved across the island and is making its way into the southwestern Atlantic.

We can now bring you an update from the country's president on the aftermath of the storm, who says there is "considerable damage".

"I ask our people not to let their guard down, to maintain discipline and continue well protected," Miguel Díaz-Canel says in a post on X.

He adds the country prepared for a worst-case scenario, which helped the response.

Pia Chevallier, from Cambridge, is on holiday in Jamaica and has been sheltering with her son at a resort 40 minutes away from Montego Bay, and she has been describing the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

"We have just been allowed to get some breakfast but the damage is absolutely horrendous," Chevallier tells BBC News.

"The windows didn't stop vibrating. There is just devastation everywhere. Palm trees blown off, tiles from roofs, paths blocked, debris from everywhere.

We're now seeing pictures from the west-central Jamaica parish of Manchester, which show people walking through floodwater on emptied streets.

It has not been long since the sun rose over the Caribbean island, so people are now starting to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa for themselves.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

In the last few moments, the UK government has announced that it will be providing £2.5m to support Jamaica in its relief efforts.

Supplies and technical experts have also been deployed to help with the disaster response.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says: “Specialist rapid deployment teams have also been positioned in the region to provide consular assistance round the clock to British nationals affected by the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.”

The government asks British nationals in Jamaica to register here., external

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Nick Davis
Reporting from Kingston, Jamaica

As Jamaica starts a new day, the true extent of Hurricane Melissa is being revealed. With 75% of the country without electricity overnight, the numbers without shelter, injured - or perhaps dead haven't even begun to be counted.

But the stories are coming out - people have shared clips of roads that became rivers, mudslides on the hills, roofs being ripped from buildings and palm trees tossed like tooth picks.

But without power or phone coverage, much of the country is isolated - technologically and physically - with additional rainfall causing flooding and landslides.

The country's prime minister, Andrew Holness, has declared the island a disaster area. Funds from a Caribbean insurance policy created for just this type of national emergency will help to pay for some of the immediate costs and relief is already inbound from around the world.

The airport in Kingston is expected to reopen for aid flights later in the day

The US State Department says that in response to the "catastrophic damage" caused in many Caribbean countries it will deploy a "regional disaster assistance response team".

It has also activated US-based urban search and rescue teams to "bolster response efforts", it says.

"These teams are working with affected countries and local communities to determine what assistance is needed and with interagency, international, and US military partners to coordinate emergency response efforts," it says.

As a reminder, Trump told reporters on his flight from Japan to South Korea last night that the US was positioned to send assistance to Jamaica if needed.

AI fakes widely shared in aftermath of Hurricane Melissapublished at 12:51 GMT

12:51 GMT

We're now seeing the first images of the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, but other images have been circulating online.

Our colleagues at BBC Verify have been tracking fake images as Melissa sweeps across the Caribbean:

By Emma Pengelly, BBC Verify journalist

In one image posted yesterday, which claims to show devastation in Jamaica, debris can be seen flying. Items like ladders are strewn across flooded streets, palm trees are buckling in strong wind and building roofs have been torn off.

The post has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on different social media platforms.

One viral Facebook post comes from an account that identifies itself as sharing “AI visuals”. The post also says it is allegedly of a destroyed hospital in the coastal town of Black River, but the layout of the buildings and surrounding landscape do not match its hospital.

We also ran the image through Google’s deepfake detection tool and it found Google AI generation digital watermarks in nearly every part of the image.

There are also other elements of the image which indicate it isn’t real - like repeated patterns in the damaged palm tree leaves and possible inconsistencies in the buildings.

During major weather events we almost always find fake images and video surfacing online, so at times like these it’s important to check reputable sources for information before sharing.

We're now getting some fresh images from Jamaica's Montego Bay area, where Hurricane Melissa has left widespread damage.

The popular tourist destination is now surrounded by shattered roofs and debris on the roads - here are the latest pictures:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The latest advisory from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) says the storm is continuing to move over eastern Cuba and will "soon emerge" into the southwestern Atlantic.

Melissa is moving at around 14mph (22km/h), with maximum sustained winds now near 105 mph (165 km/h), it says.

In its latest update, the NHC says:

Cuba: Hurricane-force winds are occurring within the warning area, and the eastern part of the country is likely to face life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides. It is also warning of a dangerous storm surge.

Jamaica: The government of Jamaica has discontinued its tropical storm warning, but the island is expected to face ongoing catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides.

The Bahamas: Hurricane conditions are expected in southeastern and central parts of The Bahamas today. Flash flooding is expected from high rainfall in the south east, and a dangerous storm surge of five to eight feet above normally dry ground is possible today.

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor, News Online

The US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that preparations to protect life and property should be "rushed to completion" in The Bahamas.

As we've just reported, Hurricane Melissa is forecast to move across The Bahamas later on Wednesday with south-eastern and central islands most at risk.

Prime Minister Philip Davis has said that his government has taken all of the necessary steps to ensure that its response is "organised, resourced, and effective".

On Monday, the government issued an evacuation order for a number of islands in the south-east of the archipelago, which are predicted to be most at risk from Melissa.

In 2019, the archipelago was hit by Dorian, a category five hurricane, whose powerful winds, rain and storm surges left widespread devastation and killed scores of people.

Simon King
Presenter and meteorologist, BBC Weather

After clearing Cuba around lunchtime (GMT), Melissa will track towards The Bahamas this afternoon.

And even though the hurricane continues to weaken, it is still likely to be category two storm with sustained wind speeds of around 100-110mph as it bears down on the Bahamas this evening (GMT).

The path of the centre of Melissa is forecast to pass between Long Island and Crooked Island but hurricane-force winds and heavy rain will be felt more widely across the southeastern Bahamas.

National Hurricane Center forecasts suggest rainfall totals of 5-10 inches, with flash flooding possible along with the threat of a life-threatening storm surge.

Residents of the Bahamas are urged to find safe shelter and follow official guidance from local authorities.

Rozina Sini
BBC News

I have spoken to Yvonne Williams, a teacher in Leeds, whose two sisters live in Jamaica - one in Kingston, the other one in Maypen, Clarendon.

“Ever since the storm made landfall at around 17:00 local time I haven’t been able to get in touch with my sister. I’ve been phoning her every two hours."

She was able to speak to one sister before the hurricane made landfall, but since then she hasn't been able to reach her.

“I kept waking up periodically through the night to try and get through," Yvonne says.

“The last time I spoke to her she said she wasn’t worried as she had prepared and cut down some trees so she wasn’t overly anxious. But she wasn’t sure how a category five storm might look.”

Image source, Zoom.earth/NWS/OpenStreetMap

We've just been hearing from the British Red Cross, as humanitarian organisations rally in response to Hurricane Melissa.

They're waiting for dawn to break in Jamaica to assess the extent of the damage.

Alexander Pendry, the organisation's global response manager, says "early indications are that Hurricane Melissa was a disaster of unprecedented catastrophe for the island".

"News is already coming through that whole communities are under water and that the damage left by the strong winds has been devastating," he adds.

Pendry says the priorities are search and rescue and ensuring everyone has access to healthcare, safe shelter, clean water, food and other essential supplies.

"Tragically, experience tells us that the impact on communities and individuals will be shattering and long lasting. We will be here for as long as people need us.”

Simon King
Presenter and meteorologist, BBC Weather

While Hurricane Melissa has cleared Jamaica and winds are substantially lower, there will still be some thunderstorms across the island.

The National Hurricane Center warns that an additional 3-6 inches (7-15cm) of rain is possible in parts, with up to 30 inches over mountainous areas.

Certain areas will remain flooded and there’s a risk of ongoing flash flooding and numerous landslides around mountainous regions that could continue into Wednesday night.

This is likely to make the clear-up and damage assessment quite difficult in the coming days.

Image source, AFP

We're now seeing the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), which gives a good indication of the widespread impact of Hurricane Melissa.

The hurricane is currently making its way across eastern Cuba, with "life-threatening storm surges, flash flooding, landslides and damaging winds" hitting the country this morning.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic are expected to see "catastrophic" flash flooding and landslides in some places today. The former, which is significantly less developed than its neighbour, is likely to see "extensive damage and isolation of communities".

In The Bahamas, the largest island of which lies around 400 miles north of Haiti, hurricane conditions are expected to produce life-threatening storm surges in the south-east and centre of the country.

Further east, tropical storm conditions and significant storm surges are expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

In Bermuda, around 1,000 miles away from where the hurricane is currently positioned, people are being warned to brace for hurricane conditions tomorrow.

Meanwhile in Jamaica, people are being urged to continue sheltering due to downed power lines and flooding. Storms are expected to continue today.