As Hurricane Melissa continues through the Caribbean, members of the Jamaican community in the Greater Boston area are anxiously trying to contact relatives back home.

Article last updated: Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, 5 p.m. ET

The United States is deploying several dozen disaster relief workers, including urban search and rescue teams, to Caribbean island nations as they deal with devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

Compared with other hurricane models used by the NHC, the DeepMind model is “definitely toward the front of the pack if not at the front of the pack”, says Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. “It’s pretty impressive.”

NWS meteorologists at the Anchorage, Alaska, office issued a hurricane-force wind warning in the early morning hours on Wednesday. The office warned that winds could gust to 65 knots (74 mph), equivalent to a low-end Category 1 hurricane. The strong winds would cause 23-foot seas on Wednesday.

Paula Robinson, who lives in Preston, has eleven members of her family living in Jamaica, including her mum, who she last spoke to on Monday. She said her mum told her "'if I never hear your voice again, just know I love you". "I told her you are going to hear my voice again!'"

In addition to damaging winds, Melissa is bringing "catastrophic flash flooding, and life-threatening storm surge" to the island. The storm was "one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic Basin," according to the NHC. Melissa was located about 110 miles south-southeast of the central Bahamas.

Disaster relief from the U.S. to Jamaica is delayed due to the government shutdown, but several private organizations are mobilizing to send relief after Hurricane Melissa. NBC News’ Jesse Kirsch spoke to one group packing up soup,