‘A Lot of People Lost Everything’: Operation Blessing Helps Thousands of Jamaican hurricane Victims
Montego Bay, Jamaica – in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, Operation Blessing is providing critical aid to Jamaicans reeling from widespread devastation. The storm,which struck last week,has claimed at least 32 lives and left approximately three-quarters of the island without power.
Hurricane Melissa ripped the roofs off an estimated 120,000 structures and left over 140,000 people in need of essential assistance. Operation Blessing has launched a full-scale disaster response operation from its Montego Bay base, deploying volunteers to clear debris and deliver relief supplies.
So far, the organization has served more than 10,000 hot meals, provided medical care to over 250 patients, and distributed hundreds of cases of water, alongside water filtration systems to ensure access to clean drinking water.
“Operation Blessing is a blessing right now to a lot of people in Montego Bay, as a lot of people they lost everything, everything,” said volunteer Marcia McFarlane.”They can’t cook, they can’t do nothing. Some of them don’t have any money; they don’t have anything. So, you coming on board, it’s a massive blessing.”
Operation Blessing reports expanding a local church kitchen to facilitate large-scale meal distribution, emphasizing the immediate impact of donor support. Locals describe the damage from Hurricane Melissa as exceeding even the devastation caused by Category 4 Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, with entire communities submerged and families left desperate for help.
Those wishing to support Operation Blessing’s relief efforts can contribute at https://www.ob.org/mc/obdisaster/?utm_campaign=OB-2025-Hurricane-Melissa&utm_medium=social&mot=067703.
