Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October as a Category 5 storm, causing severe regional impacts across Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. The storm has heavily disrupted health systems, resulting in damaged hospitals, power and water outages, and limited access to essential health services. Response operations remain constrained by blocked roads, flooding, and restricted airport and port access. Figures remain preliminary as assessments continue.
Report Highlights Jamaica: Extensive damage to hospitals and clinics; at least five deaths confirmed. Power outages are critically affecting cold-chain operations and service continuity (1-3).
Haiti: Flooding and landslides caused 23 deaths, mainly in Petit-Goâve, with heightened risk of waterborne disease and limited access to functioning health facilities (4, 5).
Regional: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas report flooding, storm surge, and power disruption impacting health facilities and supply chains. Hundreds of families remain in shelters, requiring ongoing WASH, disease surveillance, and psychosocial support (6-8).
PAHO/WHO has activated its Regional Incident Management Support Team (IMST) and is coordinating closely with Ministries of Health, CARPHA, and CDEMA to guide the regional health response.
Technical Support: Deploying specialists in health services, WASH, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and structural engineering for rapid facility assessments.
Medical Supplies & Logistics: Emergency medical kits pre-positioned in Haiti and Cuba; additional assistance offered to Jamaica from the Strategic Reserve in Panama.
Surveillance & Assessments: Supporting post-disaster health-facility assessments and disease surveillance, with emphasis on waterborne illness prevention and continuity of essential services. |
