Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 5 storm, is devastating parts of the Caribbean, prompting Direct Relief to commit an initial $250,000 in financial assistance and make its entire medical inventory available to regional health providers. The hurricane is bringing catastrophic rain, flooding, and winds exceeding 150 miles per hour, with Jamaica and Cuba preparing for impact after severe flooding and landslides struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Direct Relief’s long-standing partnerships and ongoing operations across the Caribbean position it to deliver a rapid and effective response to the escalating crisis.
Over the last five years, the organization has delivered over 75 tons of medical aid to Jamaica alone, including insulin and respiratory medications. In anticipation of growing health needs, additional medical shipments are being prepared, such as field medic packs for first responders and personal care kits for displaced families.
Direct Relief has also played a key role in strengthening Jamaica’s healthcare resilience, investing $1.8 million in solar backup systems for medical facilities, emergency generators, and a mobile healthcare unit. Its broader hurricane preparedness program ensures that medicines and medical supplies are pre-positioned in storm-prone regions, each cache capable of supporting 3,000 people for one month until supply chains recover.
Currently, six hurricane preparedness packs are positioned across the region — in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Panama — ready for immediate use. Additional supplies are on standby with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to support affected health centers as needed. Building on lessons from previous disasters such as Hurricane Maria, when the organization delivered over $75 million in aid to Puerto Rico, Direct Relief continues to reinforce regional health systems and ensure energy resilience for medical infrastructure.
Through close coordination with key partners, including the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and PAHO, Direct Relief is prepared to scale up assistance as the full extent of Hurricane Melissa’s impact becomes clearer, ensuring that communities across the Caribbean receive the essential medical and humanitarian support they need.
