Flight engineers, pilots, scientists and others flew multiple harrowing missions into Melissa without pay. They wanted to do far more.

Rita Hilton, who has lived in Jamaica for 60 years, works with the McLaughlins and helps farmers export their crops. She called the hurricane “the most intense, horrific storm” she has experienced. Hilton was airlifted to Kingston, the country’s capital, this week after seven days in her isolated, torn-down home.

In Jamaica, survivors of Hurricane Melissa describe losing everything as the storm's fury lays bare the island's new climate reality.

A relief flight carrying tens of thousands of pounds of medical supplies and other aid departed Miami International Airport on Monday, part of a growing effort across South Florida to assist Jamaica as the island recovers from Hurricane Melissa,

The move to shut down USAID and to limit U.S. foreign assistance was widely condemned by humanitarian organizations around the world, with some experts warning that the foreign aid cuts could lead to deaths in the thousands, if not millions, in the next decade.