Kingston, Jamaica — November 1, 2025 | Dalena Reporters
In response to the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa, the Canadian Red Cross has activated its Caribbean emergency-response protocols and dispatched relief resources to Jamaica, working in coordination with local humanitarian partners.
The hurricane, which made landfall in Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 storm, caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, homes and agricultural assets — leaving thousands of Jamaicans in need of urgent aid. Canadian Red Cross officials state they are standing ready with relief funds, emergency stockpiles and deployment personnel to support the recovery effort.
Canadian government sources confirm that Ottawa has committed CA $7 million in humanitarian assistance for the broader Caribbean region, including Jamaica. The funding is earmarked for emergency food, water, sanitation and health services, as well as logistics support via the UN’s World Food Programme regional hub.
Canadian Red Cross operations are focusing on:
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Supplying shelter kits, hygiene kits, tarpaulins and drinking water to impacted communities.
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Supporting the Jamaica Red Cross in managing emergency shelters and evacuation logistics amid power and communications outages.
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Working with national disaster-management agencies to pre-position aid for harder-to-reach rural and mountainous regions cut off by flooding and landslides.
With roads blocked, bridges collapsed and electricity still down in many parishes, humanitarian access remains a critical issue. Jamaican authorities have described the storm-impact zone as “unprecedented in scale” with recovery expected to take months.
In a statement to the Canadian media, a spokesperson for the Canadian Red Cross said: “We are in close coordination with our regional partners and ready to scale our response as needs evolve. Jamaica and its people have my country’s full commitment as they begin to rebuild.