South Florida mobilizes relief efforts for Jamaica ahead of Hurricane Melissa

Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald on Oct 27, 2025

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As Hurricane Melissa heads toward Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, South Florida’s Jamaican community is already organizing to help.

Several non-profits and several local municipalities have launched donation drives, accepting monetary donations, food, water, toiletries and other items that organizers expect to be necessities in the aftermath of the storm. South Florida is home to the highest concentration of Jamaicans in Florida, which has the second-largest Jamaican population in the country after New York.

The cities of Miramar, Lauderhill and Homestead established drop-off locations to accept donations. Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), a Miami-based nonprofit, is also accepting donations and asking volunteers to pack boxes of supplies at its Doral location.

Requested donations include non-perishable food, batteries, bug repellent, bottled water, flashlights, tarps, tents, diapers, first aid supplies, generators and hygienic items. (Donation drives may not accept used clothing.)

Melissa, which rapidly grew in size over the weekend and is now the strongest storm to form this year, is expected to make landfall on the southern coast of Jamaica Tuesday morning and pass through the middle of the island before heading north toward Cuba. The hurricane has already killed three people in Haiti and one person in the Dominican Republic.

“This hurricane is of unparalleled proportions to Jamaica,” said Wendy Hart, the president of American Friends of Jamaica, a charitable organization.

Though Jamaica hasn’t been directly hit by a hurricane since Sandy in 2012, last year’s Hurricane Beryl caused significant damage and fatalities as it passed just south of the island. Parts of the country are still recovering from Beryl, raising serious concerns over Jamaica’s infrastructure. Hart encouraged those who want to help relief efforts to donate what they can ahead of landfall.

“For most disaster relief agencies, the best thing that people can do is donate what they are able to, whether that’s $10 or $500 or $10,000,” Hart said. “The impact and the needs will be clarified over time, and we need to get the supplies and resources to where it’s most needed.”

South Florida Caribbean Strong and the Caribbean Bar Association are also working with GEM to collect donations, pack boxes and raise awareness. Marlon Hill, the lead volunteer mobilizer of South Florida Caribbean Strong, said he is concerned that Melissa is threatening Jamaica’s food sources. He traveled to Jamaica earlier this year and said many houses are still covered in tarps from Beryl.

Hill said South Florida Caribbean Strong will be at GEM’s warehouse all week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to sort and pack boxes. “You don’t need an invitation to be there,” he said. “Everyone is welcome.”

Gabrielle Thomas, the president-elect of the Caribbean Bar Association, said Jamaicans in South Florida see themselves as extended family members of Jamaicans in their home country.

“Everybody in Jamaica is praying, hoping we come out of this strong, but it’s really concerning if infrastructure cant withstand this,” Thomas said. “Jamaicans are resilient. Caribbeans are resilient. I know that we will help each other at the end of the day.”