Samaritan's Purse races to help Jamaica after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa destruction: 'Not been forgotten'

Samaritan's Purse led by Franklin Graham airlifts over 38,000 pounds of emergency supplies to Jamaica after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa devastated the island.

"Hurricane Melissa has pummeled Jamaica and left tens of thousands of families in urgent need of help," Graham told Fox News Digital. "Entire communities have been ripped apart, flooded and left in ruins. Many families just had their entire world disintegrate around them. We already have 38,000 pounds of relief supplies and teams on the ground with more on the way. We want these people to know that God loves and cares for them. He sees their pain — they have not been forgotten." Jasmine Baehr is a Breaking News Writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, faith and culture.

The first Samaritan’s Purse cargo flight, a B757 from the organization’s Airlift Response Center in Greensboro, carried 1,500 family kits filled with tarps, ropes, solar lights, jerry cans and water filters. A second flight, a DC-8 jet, is scheduled to depart Friday carrying two community water filtration systems, each capable of providing clean water for 10,000 people a day along with additional supplies and medical teams.Edward Graham, the organization’s chief operating officer and Franklin Graham’s son, said crews were preparing even before the storm struck. "Before Hurricane Melissa even hit, our teams were standing by — closely coordinating with our church partners in Jamaica, preparing supplies, and loading our aircraft," he said. "Now our disaster response specialists are on the ground, and we are hard at work to provide relief to families who are hurting. Please pray for Jamaica and these families who have lost so much."