A disaster response specialist from Kansas City-based Heart to Heart International is on the ground in Jamaica assessing the widespread damage from Hurricane Melissa and coordinating relief efforts.

The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and lasts through November 30. There have been 13 named storms so far this season.

Rescuers and aid workers fanned out across Jamaica on Saturday to distribute food and water and reach communities still isolated four days after Hurricane Melissa hit the island.

The world's largest nonprofit public health organization, which focuses on addressing the HIV AIDS epidemic, will be deploying 41 pallets with critical supplies, like generators, water, toilet paper, tents, tarps, ready-to-eat food kits, feminine hygiene kits and water purification tablets.

Melissa’s terrifying trip through the Caribbean also piled on evidence of the influence of a warming ocean on an evolving hurricane landscape.

Days after Hurricane Melissa hit, communities are isolated with little food, no water, and no idea of when normalcy will return.

In analyses shared by retired National Hurricane Center chief forecaster James Franklin last week, Google’s DeepMind has been the top performing model for track and intensity in both the Atlantic and the Pacific basins this season.

Jamaican music superstar Sean Paul has said the scale of the effort required to help people in the country is "overwhelming" after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the island last week. The Grammy-winning reggae singer said the category five storm was "very frightening, especially for my young kids".

Insured losses from Hurricane Melissa's strike on Jamaica are expected to range between $2.2 billion and $4.2 billion, according to estimates from data analytics firm Verisk .