Overview
- At SOUTHCOM's direction, three CH-47 Chinooks delivered 40 service members and supplies to Kingston to establish operations.
- Additional personnel and equipment are slated to arrive on three UH-60 and two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the coming days.
- The mission responds to a formal request from Jamaica and is coordinated by the State Department with a Disaster Assistance Response Team on the ground.
- Jamaican officials report Kingston is largely intact while western Jamaica suffered severe damage with widespread power outages.
- Hurricane Melissa struck as a Category 5 storm, causing dozens of deaths across the Caribbean, including at least 19 in Jamaica, according to health officials.