When Hurricane Melissa Struck Jamaica, Clean Water Became an Emergency

Three days before Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica, Wine To Water was already making preparations to deploy. As the storm churned toward the Caribbean island, our team reached out to local contacts and partner organizations, packed deployment bags, and began working through the logistics that would soon be needed on the ground.

On October 28, Melissa slammed into Jamaica’s southwestern coast as the strongest Category 5 storm ever to hit the island. With winds reaching 185 mph, the hurricane caused widespread flooding, landslides that cut off remote communities, and power outages across the country. More than 90,000 homes were destroyed and an estimated 1.6 million people were affected. 

Jamaica is often associated with sunshine, turquoise water and rest—a place many people know through vacation photos and resort beaches. But after Hurricane Melissa, that familiar image disappeared. Communities across the island were suddenly facing displacement, widespread destruction and the loss of basic services, including access to safe drinking water.

In the days after the storm, an island known for beauty and escape was instead confronting the fragile reality of survival.

Arriving in the Aftermath

Three days after the storm passed, two Wine To Water staff members arrived in Jamaica. They immediately began meeting with partners and local leaders to better understand the most urgent needs and determine where our staff and resources could have the greatest impact. While conducting a rapid needs assessment, the team also worked through the basics of operating in a disaster zone—where to sleep, how to find food and water, and how to access fuel. 

“Arriving in a disaster zone where we had not worked before and therefore had very few points of contact makes it difficult to figure out things like where to stay, how to get around, and where the greatest levels of need are,” said Claire Dresselhaus,  Disaster Response Manager for Wine To Water.

To identify communities most in need, the team joined coordination groups where disaster relief organizations shared what they were seeing and where they were working across the island. With power, internet, and cell service down in many areas, communication was limited. Often, the only way to understand what was happening was to drive from community to community, searching for places that had been overlooked. 

When Water Infrastructure Fails

“Water was an urgent need throughout the first few weeks after the hurricane,” Dresselhaus said. “The island's water infrastructure was extensively and severely damaged or destroyed. “

Water testing confirmed bacterial contamination in several sources. But with no running water available, families had few options. 

“Everywhere we went we saw lines of people by rivers and springs filling up their containers,” Dresselhaus said. “As these were unprotected sources, there is a high probability of contamination, especially after a storm like Melissa swept so much debris into them.”

Along the coastline—areas many people associate with rest and recreation—families gathered for a very different reason. With no running water at home, the ocean became the only place to bathe. The contrast was stark in a place so often known for escape and leisure.

Reaching Isolated Communities

In some areas, roads were completely destroyed, leaving communities unable to travel for food or water. For nearly two weeks, families relied entirely on helicopter aid drops until makeshift roads could be created. As access slowly improved, our team worked to get water filters into these hard-to-reach areas.

This is exactly the kind of situation the DROP Filter™ was designed for. Built to reach communities beyond the last mile—places without reliable infrastructure, access roads or power—the DROP Filter™ allowed our team and partners to quickly deliver safe drinking water to families cut off by the storm.

Between Wine To Water’s direct implementations and our partners’ support, 5,536 filters were installed across the island in November. Filters reached nine of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, from urban centers to rural farming communities, including elderly care facilities, schools, clinics and churches. 

Recovery, Resilience, and Hope

“Jamaica was hit so hard, so the recovery process will take time,” Dresselhaus said. “I would say they have transitioned from response to recovery activities now, as they try to build back better. Of course, there are still some communities that are in a critical state, where their homes were completely destroyed, and they may have to relocate and start from scratch.”

One woman shared that the hillside where she once lived had been home to 300 families. After the hurricane, only 20 houses remained standing. She is one of thousands facing a long road to recovery.

In a country celebrated worldwide for its warmth and hospitality, the scale of loss was impossible to ignore. Yet even in the midst of devastation, that same spirit of community remained. Neighbors continued showing up for one another, sharing what they had and helping rebuild where they could.

At the hotel where our team stayed, one staff member extended remarkable hospitality. Eventually, he shared that he hadn’t worn dry clothes in days—the hurricane had torn the roof off his home, and everything he owned remained wet.

“The people we were lucky enough to work with demonstrated their strength and love for their community in so many ways,” Dresselhaus said. “Even though they too had been impacted, they were using any time and resources they still had to help others, whether by driving deep into the hills across terrible roads to deliver filters, volunteering at distribution sites, or simply by being a listening ear, they kept showing up day after day, and I feel confident they will continue to do so.”

Ready Before Disaster Strikes

This critical work was possible because of the ongoing support of our donors who make readiness a priority—before disaster strikes. Their generosity allows teams to pre-position equipment, maintain partnerships, and deploy quickly when communities need clean water most. Because of that support, when Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica, we were able to move fast, adapt to complex conditions and begin delivering safe water in the days and weeks that followed. And when the next disaster comes, our team will be ready to respond.