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Hurricane Melissa: Relief efforts intensify as damage across Caribbean grows

12 November 2025

Caption: Titian-Rose Whittle, Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE) Specialist at the UN Populations Fund - Sub-Regional Caribbean Office, visited the hardest-hit areas in Jamaica to assess urgent needs and strengthen the humanitarian response.

Photo: © UNFPA

Two weeks after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, governments and aid agencies are still struggling to reach communities as damage assessments rise.

In Jamaica, access to isolated communities is improving but remains precarious.

Only two communities are still unreachable – down from 27 last week – though additional rainfall could limit access once again.

Shelter remains a critical concern. Some 40,000 tarpaulins earmarked for delivery have not been transported due to blocked and damaged roads. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has so far assisted 9,000 people in hard-hit Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth, with plans to extend cash assistance to up to 90,000 households as conditions allow.

In Cuba, more than 54,000 people remain displaced, including 7,500 staying in official shelters, according to the UN relief coordination office, OCHA. The scale of damage is now significantly higher than initial estimates, with more than 600 health facilities and 90,000 homes affected.

UN agencies are supporting the national response, having assisted about 140,000 people in shelters and community kitchens, and distributing agricultural tools and livestock feed to restore livelihoods.

They are also supplying equipment to bolster disease control and prevention efforts and delivering medical supplies to reinforce reproductive health services, including maternal care.

In Haiti, where Hurricane Melissa claimed more than 40 lives, humanitarian partners are expanding operations amid extensive damage across multiple departments.

The UN and partners have also distributed hygiene kits and restored electricity for vaccine refrigeration and providing psychosocial support in schools.

They are also delivering 15-day food rations to hard-hit areas in the south. In Petit Goâve, food assistance is being provided to more than 40,000 people, with further distributions planned this week.

To overcome access challenges, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has expanded operations with five new access points to reach isolated communities.

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This story was first published by UN News and has been adapted for this website.