Usain Bolt makes an appeal to fans as Jamaica faces devastating aftermath of Hurricane Mellisa

Usain Bolt requested his fans to make donations to support the recovery from a hurricane. Hurricane Melissa recently hit the Jamaican coast, leaving the island nation in chaos.

The hurricane caused major damage in Jamaica after making landfall near New Hope on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, after which it headed to Cuba. The winds recorded a speed of 300 kmph. Although the damage report would take days for a detailed analysis, the hurricane has left the island with power outages and disrupted communications networks.

The hurricane entered the island nation and doubled from 70mph to 140mph in just one day. It entered into "extreme rapid intensification" mode after hitting the coast. It transitioned from category 4 to 5 while causing damage in Jamaica. As the hurricane left the Jamaican island to hit Cuba, the rescue and recovery operations began, for which the former sprinter made an appeal to fans. He shared a picture of folded hands on Instagram, which also showed destruction and urged the supporters to make contributions to relief donations, writing:

"The official way to support recovery in Jamaica 🇯🇲."

Usain Bolt calls fans to make donations. (Image credits: Screenshot of Bolt's Instagram story)

Before Usain Bolt, Elaine Thompson-Herah also made an appeal to the Jamaican citizens to stay alert and cautious.

"It's tough to watch" - Usain Bolt makes his feelings known on being a spectator at track and field events

Usain Bolt during his visit to Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Getty Images)

Usain Bolt opened up on being a spectator at track and field events, stating that it is more difficult than competing. Bolt attended the World Athletics Championships, held in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13 to 21. In an interview with Forbes India, he highlighted his struggle of being a viewer. He also expressed his content with the Jamaican team's performance at the World Athletics Championships, where Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson secured first two places in the men's 100m race, respectively.

"I do miss competing. I was at the World Championships this year and it was hard to watch, just watch. It was also exciting so I was really happy but it's tough to watch. The guys actually came one two this year, so I was very happy to see Jamaica back on top this year." [1:20 onwards]

Bolt has bagged 14 World Championship medals. His long-standing 100m and 200m world records were registered at the 2009 World Championships.