As Tropical Storm Melissa grows in strength and threatens to develop into a major hurricane across the Caribbean, heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides, and high winds pose serious risks for Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and surrounding islands. Forecasters predict Melissa could reach Category 3 or higher within the next 24 to 72 hours, and its track remains uncertain.
Recognizing the heightened threat, Direct Relief is closely monitoring conditions and coordinating with partners across the region to ensure emergency medical aid can be deployed quickly and effectively.
“With Melissa expected to intensify — and with its future track uncertain — preparedness is key for ensuring the health and safety of these communities,” said Luis David Rodríguez, Caribbean Emergency Response Manager at Direct Relief. “Because essential supplies have been pre-positioned — including over $3 million in medical aid delivered within the last month and significant investment in backup power in Jamaica over the past year — health facilities across the region will be able to continue treating patients, even if flooding and power outages disrupt normal supply lines.”
Direct Relief is also processing incoming emergency requests, including a shipment of 100 field medic packs for the National Health Fund Jamaica, as well as 250 personal care kits with hygiene items for displaced families. Additional emergency response resources, including medicines and supplies, are available for rapid deployment from Direct Relief’s headquarters in Santa Barbara as conditions evolve.
In the past 30 days alone, Direct Relief has delivered over $3.1 million in medical aid to the potentially impacted areas — positioning critical resources on the ground and ready for immediate use following the storm:
- Jamaica: $132,102 in medical aid to the National Health Fund
- Haiti: $243,518 in medicines and medical supplies (over 2,000 pounds) to the Pan American Health Organization in Haiti
- Dominican Republic: $2.8 million in medicines, medical supplies, field medic packs for first responders, and personal care items for displaced people (over 10,000 pounds) to five partner organizations — Centro Médico Central Romana, Patronato Benéfico Oriental, Fundación Solidaria del Divino Niño Jesús, Hospital Infantil Robert Reid Cabral, and Defensa Civil, the Dominican Republic’s National Emergency Management Agency
These recent shipments build on Direct Relief’s long-term support in the Caribbean, where the organization has delivered more than $1.8 billion worth of medical aid across 460 health-care partners in the region.
About the Hurricane Preparedness Program
Direct Relief’s Hurricane Preparedness Program — the largest charitable hurricane preparedness initiative of its kind globally — equips local healthcare providers in hurricane-prone regions with pre-positioned caches of essential resources so care can begin within hours of impact. There are four of these Hurricane preparedness packs, or HPPs, pre-positioned within the storm’s current projected path, each designed to support the care of 3,000 people for one month.
Direct Relief is coordinating with the Jamaica Ministry of Health, Hope for Haiti, Defensa Civil, Patronato Benéfico Oriental, and the Pan American Health Organization, or PAHO, which monitors both Haiti and Cuba.
Preparedness efforts across the Caribbean include:
- Haiti: Two HPPs are pre-positioned in the country with PAHO and Hope for Haiti
- Jamaica: In 2024, Direct Relief provided a $3 million grant to the National Health Fund to install a solar-energy system at the country’s primary pharmaceutical distribution facility, strengthening health-system resilience. Following Hurricane Beryl, Direct Relief donated 24 generators, all now installed at health facilities across the southern coast and greater Kingston area to ensure continuity of care during power outages.
- Dominican Republic: Two HPPs are pre-positioned — one with Patronato Benéfico Oriental and another with Fundación Solidaria del Divino Niño Jesús, both long-term partners organizations of Direct Relief. In addition, Defensa Civil has received 108 emergency medical backpacks and 300 personal care kits filled with hygiene items to support displaced families during disasters.
Direct Relief has consistently supported Caribbean health systems through hurricanes and other disasters, including Hurricanes Matthew, Dorian, Maria, Fiona, and Beryl. With pre-positioned supplies, resilient energy and backup power infrastructure enhancements, and trusted regional logistics networks, the organization stands ready to respond to future requests for aid as they become known.
