Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is bringing sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and poses a catastrophic threat to Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and parts of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos in the coming days. On track to be the most powerful hurricane to hit Jamaica in 35 years, Melissa’s rapid intensification raises serious concerns about infrastructure damage, communication outages, and prolonged isolation of affected communities.
International Medical Corps is working alongside Jamaican authorities, including the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, the Ministry of Health and the National Healthcare Enhancement Foundation, to coordinate response efforts ahead of extreme flash flooding and landslide hazards that local communities will face in the coming days.
Building on our extensive experience responding to severe hurricanes—including Hurricane Beryl, where we successfully collaborated with Jamaican authorities to provide critical support to multiple health centers and delivered Mass Casualty Management and Basic Emergency Care training to first responders—International Medical Corps has begun to preposition lifesaving supplies. Our teams are prepared to distribute medical, wound-care, hygiene and food supplies where needed most, and have an emergency response unit ready to deploy as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Your support can help bring urgently needed medical care and supplies to the people of Jamaica affected by Hurricane Melissa as they rebuild and recover from this disaster.
*Please note for recurring donations: Once we have determined that the community can continue to respond to the after-effects of this emergency without us, we will scale back our response efforts. At that time, we will redirect your future donations where they are needed most to help us respond to future outbreaks of conflict, disease or disaster.
