Hurricane Melissa: what you can do to help
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-29)

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October 2025. Here is how you can help.

If you want to donate money to support those affected by Hurricane Melissa, there are a number of trusted charities and organisations providing humanitarian relief on the ground in Jamaica.

Donate to the Government of Jamaica’s emergency appeal (https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/).

Donate to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) Societies appeal in support of Jamaica. (https://donate.redcrossredcrescent.org/ifrc/hurricane-melissa/~my-donation?_cv=1)

The UK Government will match public donations to the IFRC appeal with up to £1 million.

The UK government immediately committed up to £2.5 million to support the humanitarian response to devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-deploys-urgent-hurricane-relief-to-the-caribbean) . In addition, it is mobilising an additional £5 million emergency humanitarian funding (https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fnews%2Fuk-deploys-additional-emergency-humanitarian-funding&data=05%7C02%7CNushy.Rose%40fcdo.gov.uk%7C01e51cb194484b35bbd508de1888f0f3%7Cd3a2d0d37cc84f52bbf985bd43d94279%7C0%7C0%7C638975173595224123%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=QRHdxLjTNmYvcvj%2Byb9npQT%2BLo1pUnBmXZgcLFMuJR4%3D&reserved=0) to support recovery in the wider Caribbean region.

Donating essential supplies

One of the most effective ways to help is by donating cash through trusted charities and aid organisations, rather than sending goods. Cash can be transferred quickly to areas where it is needed, and used to purchase what is most urgently required.

Unsolicited donations of goods, although well-intentioned, can obstruct supply chains and delay life-saving assistance. If you wish to donate goods, check with charities and community groups first. They will have lists of items they need.

Making your donation safely

Charities with experience in disaster response are best placed to reach people affected by Hurricane Melissa.

There are some simple steps you can take to ensure your money is safe and being used effectively:

check the charity’s name and registration number using the relevant charity register tool in your country. In the UK you can use the charity register tool (https://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information)

most charities with an income of £5,000 or more must be registered, which means they are regulated by the Charity Commission (England and Wales) (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission), the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (https://www.oscr.org.uk/) (Scotland), or The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/) (Northern Ireland)

make sure the charity is genuine before giving any financial information

If in doubt, ask the charity or organisation for more information

Media enquiries

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