GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Disaster planning, including mass evacuations and prepositioning aid in Jamaica before Hurricane Melissa hit, explains the storm’s relatively low death toll, the Red Cross said Wednesday.

A week after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, the death toll on the island stands at 32, out of at least 76 across the wider Caribbean.

Given it made landfall as a top-strength Category 5 hurricane, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) had been bracing for a higher toll.

“Right now the numbers seem low,” said Loyce Pace, IFRC regional director for the Americas, pointing out that over a million people “were directly affected by its path in Jamaica”.

In an interview with AFP at IFRC’s Geneva headquarters, she acknowledged that the death toll could still rise as emergency workers reach communities rendered inaccessible by the storm.

“We’re still literally digging out,” she said, adding that as access improves, “I think they’re going to find a lot of damage, and potentially deaths… Hopefully (the numbers) don’t increase by too much.”

– Being ready ‘saves lives’ –
Asked why the numbers were not higher, Pace highlighted “anticipatory action, being ready”.

“That’s what saves lives.”

Pace hailed the Jamaican government for taking the storm “very seriously” and issuing “really clear messages to those communities that… you have to get out”, and setting up shelters for those who hadn’t made it out.

“They were ready, as ready as they could be for a storm of this size.”

The Jamaican Red Cross and other organisations had also prepared for the Caribbean hurricane season, moving aid, getting aid workers in place and planning how to handle communications when networks went down.

Pace said that around 1,000 families received supplies before Melissa hit, and despite damaged infrastructure and airport disruptions, the organisation has brought in some 100 tonnes of supplies since then.

Early planning meant the Red Cross managed to keep phone lines open. It has had been inundated with calls from family members abroad desperately trying to reach loved ones.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” Pace said, with the IFRC having to recruit more people to man the phones to help “make sure people are reconnected”.

– ‘An opportunity’ –
Pace said numerous countries, including the United States, had recognised the emergency and provided assistance.

But Pace cautioned that it would not be a challenge to keep attention on reconstruction. “If it’s not seen as an emergency, who’s still going to be there 30 days from now?” she asked.

“This is not a two week thing: this is a two-year thing.”

Pace pointed out that Melissa hit while Jamaica and other Caribbean nations were still recovering from Hurricane Beryl, which struck in July 2024.

“People were still thatching roofs and replanting,” she said, warning that “for those communities, it will be even harder to reset”.

Pace hoped that Melissa’s devastation could jog decision-makers gathering for the COP30 UN climate talks in Brazil. “Every crisis is an opportunity” to highlight the growing impact of climate change, and the importance of preparedness, she said.

As storms become more intense with the impact of climate change, “you can’t prevent … the weather”, Pace said, but “you can prevent the impact”.

“Early action saves lives.”