Last Updated: October 31, 2025
Situation:
On Sunday, October 26, Hurricane Melissa intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm as it moved northwest through the Caribbean Sea, setting its sights on Jamaica in what the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned “could be the strongest direct landfall” Jamaica has ever recorded. The storm has since strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph and stronger gusts, making it the strongest storm on the planet this year. Officials have evacuated low-lying areas and opened hundreds of shelters in anticipation of life-threatening conditions.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall around 1 pm ET on Tuesday, October 28. Across the island, more than 650 shelters were activated, highlighting the strength of preparedness efforts. However, substantial challenges remain in reaching the most remote and at-risk groups. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a “disaster area” in efforts to prevent price gouging as food, water and other goods are in short supply. More than half a million people in Jamaica were without power, with the most significant impact in western Jamaica. The storm then made landfall in Cuba on Wednesday, October 29 as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph—isolating hundreds of rural communities—before moving toward Haiti. By Thursday, October 30, the storm had weakened as it passed through the Bahamas and toward Bermuda, where it made its closest approach the following morning, on Friday, October 31, about 150 miles north-northwest from land as a Category 1 storm. By 11:00 AM ET, Melissa was downgraded to a “powerful” post-tropical cyclone.
In total, the storm caused at least 50 casualties, and the death toll is expected to rise as authorities continue to assess the damage across the region. In Haiti, at least 10 children were among the casualties, and more than 20 people are also reported missing. Rescue and recovery operations have begun, but efforts have been hampered by widespread power outages, communications failures and blocked roads. Damage assessments are ongoing, but reports have already begun to show the widespread destruction across the Caribbean—particularly Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, where damaging winds and severe flooding destroyed homes and tore down utility poles.
CWS Response:
CWS is actively monitoring the situation in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, working closely with local partners to assess damage and coordinate relief. While full assessments will take time, CWS has already shipped 19,200 Hygiene Kits for pre-positioning for Jamaica to support individuals and families affected by the storm.
In Haiti, CWS will respond through community partners and directly in the commune of Pestel (Grand Anse Department), working with the same experienced field team that led CWS’s response to Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the 2021 earthquake. In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, CWS helped rebuild schools in Haiti that are now serving as emergency shelters for Hurricane Melissa—demonstrating our commitment to community resilience and long-term recovery. As part of our initial Hurricane Matthew response, CWS constructed school and community water cisterns and rainwater harvesting systems in Grand’Anse and the Northwest Department. The 17,000-gallon rainwater cistern at the public school serving 100 students in the Northwest is currently full, and to date no cholera cases have been reported in the community. In the coming days and weeks, CWS field staff will be working with local water committees and visiting cisterns built in Pestel, including many developed with Mennonite Central Committee support.
In Jamaica and Cuba, CWS works in coordination and partnership with established global and regional faith-based organizations that have local church partners in the affected communities. In all cases, assistance will be provided strictly based on need—without discrimination or favoritism of any kind.
CWS is also an active member of CLIO, an association of more than 80 Haitian and international organizations founded in 2005. CLIO has identified urgent needs including emergency shelter, clean drinking water, sanitation, food assistance, agricultural recovery and protection for vulnerable households. As assessments continue, CWS remains committed to supporting our partners across the region and positioning resources where they are most needed.
The most effective way to support emergency response is through financial donations, which allow CWS to work with local partners to meet urgent needs without overwhelming communities with unsolicited goods or supplies. By giving to CWS’s Emergency Response Fund, your contribution is used where it’s most needed—flexibly, efficiently and with deep local insight. CWS remains engaged well beyond the initial response phase, identifying unmet needs and supporting recovery efforts that span months and even years. Your donation supports this response and other relief efforts—ensuring that communities aren’t forgotten once headlines fade.
How to Help
To support CWS emergency response efforts, donations can be made online or sent to Church World Service (P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515).