Heart to Heart International’s Disaster Response Team is actively responding to the threat posed by Tropical Storm Melissa, which is currently situated in the central Caribbean ocean. With its extremely slow moving forward progression, Melissa poses a high risk of torrential rainfall, life-threatening flash flooding, and landslides for Jamaica and southwestern Haiti over the next five to seven days.
As of October 24, Tropical Storm Melissa is inching forward at approximately 2 mph and has sustained winds between 45-50 mph. This slow pace is a major concern.
Forecast models show a high probability of rapid intensification, including upgrading the storm to a hurricane by October 25 and potentially a Category 3 or higher hurricane by October 26. The slow movement combined with this strengthening could result in prolonged heavy rainfall, potentially exceeding 20 inches in parts of Jamaica and southern Haiti. This greatly increases the risk of intense flooding and mudslides, particularly in mountainous and already saturated areas.
Currently, a Hurricane Watch is in effect for southwestern Haiti, and a Tropical Storm and impending Hurricane Watch is in effect for Jamaica. While the storm’s exact track remains uncertain, the impacts from heavy rain are a certainty.
Our Disaster Response Team has quickly mobilized to prepare for the expected impacts across the region:
- Jamaica: We have initiated a shipment of 2,400 hygiene kits with the National Health Fund of Jamaica, one of the trusted partners we worked with during Hurricane Beryl last year. We are also in close contact with other partners and remain prepared should an Emergency Medical Team deployment be requested by the World Health Organization/PanAmerican Health Organization.
- Haiti: We’re coordinating closely with our long-time local partners in Haiti, especially in the South and Grand Sud regions, to assess needs we can help address. We’ll be reaching out to more partners throughout the weekend.
Assessment Team Prepared: Based on the impacts seen over the weekend and the ultimate track of the storm, HHI is prepared to deploy an assessment team to Jamaica next week to determine immediate needs and long-term support required.
We will continue to closely monitor Tropical Storm Melissa and provide further updates on our response and the situation on the ground.
