Hurricane Melissa Response: Convoy Is on the Ground
October 31, 2025 | 4:53 p.m.
People across the Caribbean are beginning the long and difficult journey of recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
Convoy of Hope is on the ground in Jamaica, getting relief supplies into the hands of people in need. Family food kits are en route to some of the hardest-hit areas. And more distribution will take place this weekend.
“The entire Jamaica is really broken because of what has happened,” Jamaican Minister of Education Dana Morris Dixon told the Associated Press.
Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Michelet Dégange said Hurricane Melissa left him homeless. “There is no place to rest the body; we are hungry.”
“We went through this very badly. So much wind, so much wind. [Metal] roofs were torn off. Some houses completely collapsed. It was a disaster,” said Odalys Ojeda, a 61-year-old retiree, whose own roof was torn away along with other parts of her house.
Convoy of Hope is working across the Caribbean, bringing food, water, and other essentials to help people get through this incredibly difficult time.
October 30, 2025 | 8:53 p.m.
Convoy of Hope is on the way to Jamaica with team members and relief supplies. As of this morning, 77% of the island remains without power and more than 25,000 people are crowded into shelters.
Black River, the capital of St. Elizabeth Parish on Jamaica’s southwestern coast, has been totally destroyed.
“We were hit very hard. Total devastation,” Richard Solomon, the town’s mayor, told the New York Times.
“Black River is what you would describe as ground zero,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the Associated Press. “The people are still coming to grips with the destruction.”
Melissa also unleashed catastrophic flooding in Haiti, causing a river to burst its banks and kill at least 25 people. Convoy is also working in other affected Caribbean countries to bring help and hope to people in need.
October 29, 2025 | 5:02 p.m.
The news is filled with images of despair in Jamaica — damaged schools, homes, and hospitals; muddy, rushing floodwaters; and even government warnings of displaced crocodiles. Much of Jamaica is left in the dark as hundreds of thousands are without power and communication lines are down. People are emerging from their shelters to find utter devastation around them and no way to contact their loved ones.
“It was terrifying,” Natassia Wright told CNN. “Hearing the wind howling outside, hearing the sea roaring, wondering what’s going to happen next, seeing trees fall — these trees have been around for ages — seeing different objects flying around in the wind. It was scary.”
“Our country has been ravaged by Hurricane Melissa, but we will rebuild, and we will do so even better than before,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a post on Facebook.
Convoy of Hope will be a part of that recovery.
Haiti also took a hit from the hurricane. Homes collapsed, trapping people under the rubble as the heavy rain overwhelmed the La Digue river.
“I am overwhelmed by the situation,” Mayor Jean Bertrand Subrème told the Associated Press. This is a sentiment felt deeply across the Caribbean as more and more damage is uncovered. The extent of Melissa’s wrath can’t be known by anyone except people experiencing this tragedy until communication and transportation lines are open again.
And now Hurricane Melissa is wreaking havoc on other Caribbean island nations. People are still in danger and will be in need after the storm passes.
Convoy of Hope will be there, ready to get relief supplies into the hands of people whenever and wherever needed.
October 28, 2025 | 8:51 p.m.
Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica as the strongest storm in the island’s known history. Sustained 297 km/ph winds are battering buildings where thousands of people are taking shelter. Storm surge has made the coastline unrecognizable. And central parts of Jamaica could see as much as 762mm of rain.
Infrastructure is damaged, supply lines are down, and people will need help to meet their daily needs. Power outages have rippled across the nation, and communication lines are down.
Regions across the whole island have been inundated with flooding, including public infrastructure, hospitals, and shelters. People are still sheltering as the eye of the storm passes over. Though the eye of a hurricane is calm, the most intense wind and rain of the storm follow shortly after.
Although Jamaica is taking the direct hit right now, Melissa is affecting other parts of the Caribbean as well.
Hundreds of families in Haiti have taken shelter. Southern Haiti could see up to a foot of rain, major flooding, and mudslides.
In [redacted], thousands are evacuating as Melissa is set to make a second landfall later this week as a Category 3 or stronger storm.
Jamaica has been devastated, and it’s not over yet. The damage in Haiti and [redacted] will also be catastrophic.
October 27, 2025 | 4:20 p.m.
Help is on the way to Jamaica. The monstrous Hurricane Melissa is bearing down on the island as a slow-moving Category 5 storm and is set to be the worst storm in the island’s history, and Convoy is responding. People are bracing for a direct hit. Life-threatening winds, rain, flooding, and storm surge are forecasted.
Airports were closed ahead of the storm this weekend, making it nearly impossible for people to evacuate. Hundreds of shelters have opened across the island.
The storm could drop 100cm of rain over Jamaica and slam its southern coast with over 3m of catastrophic storm surge. Current wind speeds have reached over 265 km/h. Residents are working hard to prepare the best they can, boarding up windows, gathering candles and torches, and storing canned food.
This storm will be devastating.
Convoy of Hope is responding with relief supplies, ready to meet the immediate needs of people in the aftermath of the storm.
