Overview
Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 mph, making it one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. The storm brought catastrophic winds, flash flooding, and massive storm surge that severely damaged homes, hospitals, and schools. As the hurricane made its way northeast, similar scenes of devastation played out across eastern Cuba, Haiti, and the southeast Bahamas.
After the storm, your prayers and gifts are already making a difference.
- In God’s perfect timing, local churches in Cuba received fifty Send Relief–supplied generators earlier this month—just weeks before the storm’s arrival. These are powering feeding stations, shelters, and relief hubs today
- Trusted partners in Cuba are distributing food packages, cooked meals, roofing materials, medicine, mosquito repellents, and clothing to families who lost everything.
- 1,000 water filters have already been delivered, and additional shipments of food, medicine, mosquito repellent, and community-sized filters are on the way.
- In Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, Baptist churches are feeding hundreds daily and housing people displaced by flooding and home collapse.
- In Jamaica, trained disaster relief volunteers from Florida and Tennessee are repairing damaged church roofs, distributing food and supplies, and helping local congregations reopen as relief hubs.
- Send Relief is also coordinating closely with partners in Haiti, preparing to mobilize assessment and relief efforts as soon as it’s feasible.
Across the region, Send Relief is coming alongside local churches and believers to serve those in need—helping families rebuild their lives and sharing the hope of the gospel.
Send Relief is coordinating with regional Baptist partners to deliver emergency supplies and support long-term recovery as soon as conditions allow. Because our network of churches is already present and ready to serve, Send Relief can respond faster and stay longer—bringing urgent help and eternal hope to people in crisis.
You can help bring hope and help amid hurricanes and other crises by giving and by praying:
- Pray for local churches and pastors as they serve their neighbors in crisis.
- Pray for trained volunteers serving in Jamaica and those preparing for continued deployment.
- Pray for protection from mosquito-borne illness and contaminated water in Cuba.
- Pray for the quick restoration of homes, power, and access to clean water.
- Pray that Christ’s compassion and hope would shine brightly through His people.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more details on the response.
Hurricane Melissa Volunteer Interest Form
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Send Relief to serve families impacted by Hurricane Melissa. Send Relief is currently responding through local partners on the ground to meet immediate needs following the hurricane.
Please note: As of now, there have been no requests from field partners for U.S. volunteers.
We encourage you to fill out the interest form below, and the Send Relief team will retain your information and contact you if opportunities to serve become available.
From The Field
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“God Is Our Help and Strength”: A Hurricane Survivor’s Faith in Jamaica
When Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, few places were spared. In the quiet community of Balaclava …“God Is Our Help and Strength”: A Hurricane Survivor’s Faith in Jamaica Read More »
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Strength Renewed: Cuba’s Church Responds to Hurricane Melissa
When Hurricane Melissa swept across the Caribbean, Cuba’s eastern provinces braced for disaster. In Baracoa, one …Strength Renewed: Cuba’s Church Responds to Hurricane Melissa Read More »
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Send Relief working with local Jamaican churches for Hurricane Melissa response
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Following Hurricane Melissa’s destructive impact on the western portion of Jamaica after the …Send Relief working with local Jamaican churches for Hurricane Melissa response Read More »