You can send funds directly to Jamaicans impacted by the devastating hurricane

On October 28, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica – the country’s first hurricane in over a decade and the first Category 5 to ever strike the island. It has been described as “the storm of the century ” for Jamaica.

500,000 people were initially left without power with thousands more displaced from their homes. Southwest Jamaica, the country’s breadbasket, has been devastated by flooding, threatening a prolonged humanitarian crisis.

We are delivering cash to families in the hardest-hit areas

This emergency cash will help cover their immediate needs, such as:

Essentials like food, water, medicine, generators, and diapers

Shelter and hotel stays while evacuated

Bills for their phone, healthcare, and utilities

Your donations will reach those in greatest need quickly and remotely

Receiving money – without strings attached – supports families’ short term survival and long term recovery. Cash aid is fast and fully remote, letting families meet essential needs quickly and reaching them via digital transfers that don’t tax fragile supply chains or clog transit routes.

GiveDirectly has previously sent emergency cash to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton , LA wildfires , Kenya floods , and many other disasters.

This cash will help thousands of families meet their own urgent needs and rebuild their lives

Cash aid allows survivors in western Jamaica to meet their own needs rather than having others guess for them — which is why people impacted by a crisis say they prefer cash relief over donated goods.

Achieving our current fundraising goal will enable us to reach hundreds of families in greatest need. We have the capacity to deliver much more, so with more funds, we could expand to reach thousands of additional people.