Four days after Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, the island is still reeling from one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the Caribbean. Communities remain cut off, tens of thousands are without power or clean water, and aid workers are racing against time to reach those most in need. As the full scale of the devastation emerges, the international community has mobilized, with the United Kingdom and United States among those sending emergency relief and organizing evacuations for their citizens.
Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, packing winds of up to 185 mph (295 kph), flattening homes, toppling buildings, and snapping power lines. According to BBC reporting, more than 60% of the island remained without power as of Saturday, November 1, and roughly 6,000 people were sheltering in emergency facilities. The Red Cross reported that 72% of the population was still without electricity, compounding the challenges faced by both residents and rescue teams.
The immediate aftermath has been marked by scenes of desperation and resourcefulness. In hard-hit areas like St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland, people have been forced to dip buckets into muddy rivers for water, while others survive on coconuts and roasted breadfruit. With food and water distribution disrupted, some have walked miles to check on loved ones or to search for basic necessities. Helicopters have been dropping food into communities still inaccessible by road due to landslides, downed power lines, and fallen trees. Convoys of aid—sometimes led by senior government officials—have been seen delivering ready-to-eat meals, water, tarpaulins, blankets, and medicine.
Jamaica’s Health Minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton, warned of the looming health crisis, citing increased risks of mosquito-borne illnesses, waterborne diseases, and food poisoning. “Please discard spoiled food,” he urged, emphasizing the dangers posed by the lack of refrigeration and clean water. Dr. Tufton also described “significant damage” across a number of hospitals, with Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth being the most severely affected and requiring the relocation of its services. “The immediate challenge of the impacted hospitals is to preserve accident and emergency services,” he said, noting a surge in trauma-related injuries from storm-related accidents.
Amidst the chaos, reports of looting have surfaced in towns like Black River. According to eyewitness accounts shared with BBC and other media, desperate residents have entered battered supermarkets and pharmacies, gathering whatever food, water, and medicine they can find. “We have to use whatever we see here, on the street and also in the supermarket,” one resident explained, recounting how he and others climbed into a shop with a collapsed roof to salvage supplies. Patience is wearing thin, and some have described the situation as “chaos, chaos. Total. No food. No water.”
The government, for its part, insists that more aid is on the way. Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated on social media that restoring electricity and telecommunications and stabilizing essential services, particularly at Falmouth Hospital, are immediate priorities. “Jamaica would rebuild stronger and wiser,” he pledged. Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. joined emergency responders delivering essentials to the hardest-hit communities, while Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda made a public appeal for tarpaulins on social media, with citizens responding to help locate supplies.
International assistance has begun to arrive, though the scale of need is daunting. The US Embassy in Jamaica confirmed that a regional disaster assistance response team was on the ground after being activated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The United States is also sending up to ten helicopters to help transfer patients and deliver aid. The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) announced a record payout of $70.8 million to Jamaica, with the funds to be delivered within 14 days. Finance Minister Fayval Williams noted that this insurance policy is just one part of the government’s broader financial plan, which includes a contingencies fund, a national natural disaster reserve, and a catastrophe bond.
The United Kingdom has also played a prominent role in the relief effort. On Saturday, a chartered flight organized by the UK government was set to depart Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, evacuating British nationals unable to leave by commercial means. The Foreign Office estimates that around 8,000 British citizens were on the island when the hurricane struck. The UK flew in aid earlier that day as part of a £7.5 million regional emergency package, with some of the funding earmarked to match public donations up to £1 million to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent. King Charles and Queen Camilla were among those who donated, with the King expressing his “deep concern” for those affected and describing the hurricane as “a reminder of the urgent need to restore the balance and harmony of nature.”
Despite these efforts, the distribution of aid has been hampered by blocked roads and destroyed infrastructure. The BBC reported long queues for petrol, with many stations running out of fuel, as residents sought fuel for generators or vehicles to reach family members. The country’s international airports, which had closed during the storm, began reopening on Thursday, with at least 13 cargo relief flights already received and more on the way. Aid organizations such as the Global Empowerment Mission have dispatched convoys from Kingston to devastated towns like Black River, delivering packs of humanitarian assistance assembled by volunteers from the Jamaican diaspora in Florida.
The hurricane’s impact has not been limited to Jamaica. In nearby Haiti, at least 31 people lost their lives, and catastrophic flooding and landslides have left many more in need of assistance. Cuba, too, has faced unprecedented flooding, with the Rio Cauto overflowing and cutting off one of the country’s main east-west highways. Emergency workers have used boats and military vehicles to rescue residents stranded by rising waters, and more than 800 people have been evacuated from riverside towns. While Cuba reported no deaths from Melissa, recovery is expected to be challenging due to the country’s ongoing economic crisis and shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
As the region begins the long process of recovery, the full human toll of Hurricane Melissa is still being counted. Jamaica’s Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon acknowledged on Friday that the official death toll of 19 was likely to rise as isolated communities become accessible. “There are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened,” she said. The hurricane, which scientists say was made more likely and more intense by human-caused climate change, has left at least 49 people dead across the Caribbean and has served as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of island nations to extreme weather events.
For now, the focus remains on reaching those still stranded, restoring essential services, and providing relief to the thousands who have lost their homes and livelihoods. The spirit of resilience is strong, but the challenges ahead are immense—and the world is watching, ready to help where it can.
