WASHINGTON (Nov. 5, 2025)--While the official death toll in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa is now estimated at more than 65 that number will rise, according to experts who say that many storm-related deaths have yet to be verified. In addition, the official estimate probably does not reflect some of the injuries and deaths due to damaged roads, loss of electricity, flooding and other ongoing hazardous conditions.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica’s southwest coast more than a week ago with sustained winds of 185 mph, making it one of the most powerful hurricanes this year, according to USA Today.
The George Washington University has experts available to comment on the rising death toll due to the hurricane. In 2018, GW researchers were part of a team that published a landmark study of excess deaths caused by Hurricane Maria, a similarly powerful storm that slammed into Puerto Rico in 2017. To schedule an interview with a GW expert on this topic, please contact Kathy Fackelmann, kfackelmann
gwu [dot] edu (kfackelmann[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Lynn Goldman is a professor of environmental and occupational health and the former Dean of the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She was part of the Hurricane Maria team and can talk about Injuries, illness and deaths due to disruptive conditions after extreme weather such as hurricanes.
Carlos Santos-Burgoa is a professor of global health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. His interest is in toxic chemicals risk analysis, management and control of their population and climate impacts, and public health approaches to crises in epidemics and disasters in developing economies. He was the lead researcher on the landmark report GW researchers released after Hurricane Maria.
Elizabeth Andrade is an associate professor of prevention and community health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. Her 2022 study looked at deaths after Hurricane Maria and found that people with chronic diseases died at disproportionately high rates due to telecommunications outages, damaged medical facilities, prescription drug and oxygen supply chain interruptions and other issues related to the storm. She can talk about how such issues may put people in the Caribbean at risk as the storm clean up and repairs to infrastructure continue.