Hurricane Melissa emergency relief

Hurricane Melissa: devastating category 5 storm has caused catastrophic damage across Jamaica

Last updated: 29 October 2025 

On 28 October, a category five hurricane made landfall in Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of 2025, is the strongest to have hit Jamaica in modern history. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected.  

Early indications are that Hurricane Melissa has made a catastrophic impact on Jamaica, bringing with it violent winds, flash flooding, and landslides.  

In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, heavy rainfall and flooding have caused fatalities and structural damage. Cuba has placed multiple southern provinces on alert, and officials in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are preparing for possible severe impacts later in the week. 

The first priorities are search and rescue, and ensuring people have access to healthcare, safe shelter and clean water.

How to help people affected by Hurricane Melissa

The best and quickest way to help support those affected by Hurricane Melissa is to donate to our Disaster Fund today. Your donation helps us support people affected by the hurricane, as well as other disasters across the world.

Donate to the Disaster Fund now

How is the Red Cross supporting in Jamaica?

Jamaica Red Cross staff and volunteers, who come from the very communities they serve, have taken early, life-saving action to help support people. 

Before the hurricane hit, they had been proactively supporting communities by: 

• by mobilising 400 volunteers,
• pre-positioning emergency supplies,
• preparing shelters for people at risk, and
• distributed 750 blankets, 250 cleaning kits, 250 hygiene kills, 250 shelter tool kits, and 500 tarpaulins 

Now, after the hurricane, their priority is dealing with the aftermath and reaching people with aid in high-risk communities as soon as possible.  

The situation is desperate. We’re already supporting the response to this emergency via our Disaster Fund, which enables our teams to act quickly in the immediate hours of a crisis. But we need your help – the more money we raise, the more people we can reach with vital support. 

Donate to the Disaster Fund now

How is the Red Cross supporting wider affected regions?

Local Red Cross teams in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas have also been working around the clock to help communities facing this disaster:

• The Cuban Red Cross has been supporting with evacuations, offering psychosocial support, and helping families stay connected.
• Red Cross teams in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas have been working rapidly to prepare by supporting with evacuations, distributing relief items, and transporting patients from local hospitals to medical centres in safer areas.

This is a fast-moving situation. We’ll update this page throughout the coming hours and days with more information from our team on what’s happening, how we’re responding and how your support will help people.

What is the Disaster Fund?

When disaster strikes, the Red Cross is there for people. In any emergency, every second counts and your donation to the Disaster Fund allow us to act fast to provide critical aid and relief.