With “Increasingly Dire” Forecast, Hurricane Melissa Intensifies

Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category Three storm on Saturday, and the slow-moving system has already inundated the region with rainfall ahead of its projected path tracking over or near Jamaica on Monday.

The storm could reach Category Five strength by that time, and forecasters said some areas could receive up to 30 inches of rain, with the U.S. National Hurricane Center warning that the storm could have "increasingly dire" consequences for communities in its path.

Three people have been killed in Haiti from the storm's impacts, and 15 people have been injured. Cuba is also expected to receive up to 18 inches of rain in the eastern areas of the island. Southern coastlines across Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba are expected to be impacted by the storm surge.

Direct Relief Response

Direct Relief has regional staff based in the Caribbean responding to Hurricane Melissa, and the organization has been in close communication with health organizations in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic about health needs.

In the past 30 days alone, Direct Relief has delivered over $3.1 million in medical aid to the potentially impacted areas - ensuring that critical resources are already on the ground and ready for immediate use. The organization is continuing to fill requests as they become known.

For needs in Jamaica, Direct Relief has prepared a shipment of 100 field medic packs, filled with first aid items for triage care, at the request of Jamaica's National Health Fund. Also ready for shipment are 250 requested personal care kits that include hygiene items for displaced people. Direct Relief has shared its medical inventory list with Jamaica's Ministry of Health and is ready to deploy medical aid as needed.

Direct Relief has also coordinated with the Pan American Health Organization, or PAHO, to stage additional medicines in the region to backstop local supplies of medication. Two hurricane preparedness packs, with enough medications to treat 3,000 people for one month, are currently staged in Panama and ready to deploy to Jamaica as needed. Additional field medic packs are also ready to deploy to support first responders.

Direct Relief has worked to bolster Jamaica's resilient power system, and after Hurricane Beryl's impact in 2024, the organization donated 24 generators that have been installed at health centers across the southern coast and greater Kingston area, ensuring continuous healthcare services if power shuts down.

In Haiti, Direct Relief has pre-positioned two hurricane preparedness packs, one with Hope For Haiti in Les Cayes, a city in the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, and a second with PAHO, which has an emergency response team that works directly with Haiti's Ministry of Health to supporting local public hospitals.

In the Dominican Republic, Direct Relief has prepositioned two hurricane preparedness packs, and the country's national emergency response agency, Defensa Civil, recently received 108 emergency medical backpacks and 300 emergency family hygiene kits.

Direct Relief has a long history of responding to storms in the Caribbean, including Hurricanes Matthew, Dorian, Maria, Fiona, and Beryl, and has supported medical facilities throughout the region during these disasters as well as on an ongoing basis.

Direct Relief will continue to respond to medical needs throughout the week as Hurricane Melissa's impacts become known.