Hurricane Melissa Appeal

Aim

Following the Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, the British Red Cross is helping support the people affected.

On 28 October, a category five hurricane made landfall in Jamaica. 

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of 2025, is the strongest to have hit Jamaica in modern history. Millions of people have been affected and at least 61 people have been killed in Jamaica and across the region. 

Hurricane Melissa made a catastrophic impact on Jamaica, bringing with it violent winds, flash flooding, and landslides. 

Across Jamaica, much of the population remains without electricity, and reports suggest that around 30,000 people are displaced. 

In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, heavy rainfall and flooding have caused fatalities and structural damage.  

The first priorities are search and rescue, and ensuring people have access to healthcare, safe shelter and clean water. 

How is the Red Cross supporting in Jamaica? 

Jamaica Red Cross staff and volunteers, who come from the very communities they serve, have taken early, life-saving action to help support people.  

Before the hurricane hit, they had been proactively supporting communities by:  

• by mobilising 400 volunteers, 
• pre-positioning emergency supplies, 
• preparing shelters for people at risk, and 
• distributed 750 blankets, 250 cleaning kits, 250 hygiene kills, 250 shelter tool kits, and 500 tarpaulins  

Now that the hurricane has hit, the Jamaica Red Cross is supporting families in 50 shelters across the country. They are working closely with government agencies to make sure aid reaches people in high-risk communities as soon as possible. 

The situation is desperate. We’re already supporting the response to this emergency via our Disaster Fund, which enables our teams to act quickly in the immediate hours of a crisis. But we need your help – the more money we raise, the more people we can reach with vital support. 

How is the Red Cross supporting wider affected regions? 

Red Cross teams in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas have been supporting with evacuations, distributing relief items, and transporting patients from local hospitals to medical centres in safer areas.

This is a fast-moving situation. We’ll update this page throughout the coming days with more information from our team on what’s happening, how we’re responding and how your support will help people. 

How to help people affected by Hurricane Melissa 

If you’re able to, please donate to the British Red Cross Disaster Fund, which enables our teams to act quickly in the immediate hours of a crisis. Donations made via this Crowdfunder will go directly towards providing urgent support to people in Jamaica impacted by the hurricane. In any emergency, every second counts, and your donation to the Disaster Fund enables us to act fast to deliver critical aid and relief. 

This BA crowdfunding appeal will support people in Jamaica affected and those potentially affected in the future by Hurricane Melissa. Gift Aid claimed on donations received in response to this appeal and any surplus funds raised for this appeal will go to the Disaster Fund, to help people in crisis across the world.

For full T&Cs visit https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/hurricane-melissa-emergency. The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered with the Fundraising Regulator and in England and Wales (220949), Scotland (SC037738), Isle of Man (0752) and Jersey (430). 

Photo credits @ Dominican Red Cross 

This project successfully funded on 28th November 2025