(RNS) — Before Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica and Haiti on Tuesday (Oct. 28), faith-based disaster relief groups were already making plans to respond.
Melissa, a Category 5 storm, has already rolled over Jamaica and Cuba and caused flooding and storm surges across the Caribbean, killing 20 people in Haiti, according to The New York Times. The full toll from the storm, downgraded to Category 2 by Wednesday afternoon, is expected to rise as authorities assess the damage and loss of life over the next few days.
Faith groups, including World Relief, Catholic Relief Services and Operation Blessing, have mobilized to send supplies in the wake of the storm, while also raising funds for an extended relief effort. Staff already on the ground are helping with early recovery as the waters recede. World Relief is the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals.
“The damage is already considerable, and we’re bracing for worse,” Pascal Bimenyimana, country director of World Relief Haiti, said in a statement. “We are deeply concerned about the continuous rains and the extent of the flooding, preventing access to families left stranded in vulnerable regions.”
Send Relief, a Southern Baptist humanitarian aid group, has begun stockpiling supplies in Cuba, making plans with its partners in Haiti and preparing to send trained disaster relief to other Caribbean islands o …