Disaster Response. Step One. Get There.
Situation Overview
Hurricane Melissa is brought catastrophic rain, winds, and surges to Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba. Airlink is among the first to respond to the worst hurricane in Jamaica’s history, and will be there through rebuilding.
Rare Category 5 Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28 where it became the worst hurricane in the island’s history and the strongest tropical cyclone of 2025.
Melissa was particularly dangerous due to its slow-moving nature, and the catastrophic amounts of rain, flooding, and landslides that inundated multiple Caribbean islands including Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. The storm’s outer bands caused torrential rain in Haiti and damaged water supply systems in the Dominican Republic, affecting more than half a million people. The loss of agriculture and city infrastructure, including plumbing, electricity, and communications is massive and damage to roads is significant. All major airports remained closed until October 30.
Airlink’s Disaster Response
Airlink is actively responding with over 30 NGO and INGO partners, thanks to support from several airline partners who route to and through LATAM.
Before Melissa made landfall, Airlink sent four skilled responders to Jamaica focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene support to be in place for immediate response. With our airline and logistics partners, we are working to find cost-effective logistics solutions to rapidly send aid and transport expert responders, despite widespread airport closures. We are identifying safe routes for movement, that will help our partner network deploy faster.
Needs assessments are ongoing and Airlink is in close coordination with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and partners on the ground to review response needs and requirements as the response evolves. By and large, in the face of destroyed crops and upended infrastructure damages, these are anticipated to be the highest needs of communities:
- WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene)
- Food
- Medical Assistance
- Emergency Sheltering
Our first SitRep is available for viewing and downloading here.
Our Funder Brief is available for viewing and downloading here.
Airlink Has Responded in the Caribbean Since 2010
Our Partners
