• UN migration agency dispatches emergency relief supplies from its Caribbean Logistics Hub in Barbados, including solar lamps, hygiene kits, blankets, air mattresses, indoor tents, shelter repair kits, ropes, tarpaulins, and generators

GENEVA 

Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm described as the most powerful ever to threaten Jamaica, made landfall on Tuesday, putting up to 1.5 million people at risk, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.

"This is a major Category 5 system, the strongest storm on the planet this year and the most powerful hurricane to threaten the island in known history," IFRC Head of Delegation for English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries Necephor Mghendi told reporters in Geneva.

He warned that the humanitarian threat is "severe and immediate."

Authorities have declared the entire island under threat, prompting evacuations and measures to protect essential goods. Coastal and informal settlements remain particularly vulnerable to destructive winds, while saturated soils increase the risk of landslides and flooding.

Mghendi, however, estimated that rainfall totals could triple those recorded during Hurricane Beryl 16 months ago.

The Jamaica Red Cross has been on high alert for a week, mobilizing volunteers to assist evacuations and deliver food aid. Around 400 trained volunteers are ready to act once conditions permit, supported by pre-positioned supplies such as tarpaulins, hygiene kits, blankets, and safe drinking water.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters that Hurricane Melissa is packing sustained winds of 280 km/h and moving slowly westward toward Jamaica, with catastrophic winds and storm surges of up to 4 meters expected along the southern coast.

He said rainfall could reach up to 1,000 millimeters in parts of Jamaica and 500 millimeters in eastern Cuba, warning of flash floods and landslides. Laerke added that anticipatory action frameworks had been activated in Cuba and Haiti, triggering a $4 million UN emergency fund allocation to pre-position supplies.

"Hurricane Melissa poses a serious threat to Jamaica. Many people are likely to be displaced from their homes and in urgent need of shelter and relief," Natasha Greaves, the interim head of office for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Jamaica, said in a statement.

"IOM is working closely with the Government and partners to ensure that critical supplies and personnel are pre-positioned and ready to respond. Our focus remains on saving lives and supporting the most vulnerable with dignity and care," she added.

To meet these urgent needs, IOM is dispatching emergency relief supplies from its Caribbean Logistics Hub in Barbados, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP).

The shipment, including solar lamps, hygiene kits, blankets, air mattresses, indoor tents, shelter repair kits, ropes, tarpaulins, and generators, has been prioritized based on the Government of Jamaica's identified needs and is expected to arrive in Kingston later this week.

Beyond distributing relief items, IOM said it will leverage partnerships with DHL for customs and logistics and with Microsoft for satellite imagery to map damage and guide data analysis in the days and weeks following the storm. The organization said it welcomes additional partnerships and donations to assist people displaced by Hurricane Melissa.

The IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund has released 80,000 Swiss francs (over $100,000) to boost early action and logistics. Mghendi cautioned that Hurricane Melissa could deepen vulnerabilities left by Beryl, showing how the climate crisis is "compressing the time between shocks and stretching communities' capacity to withstand them."