The Evangelical humanitarian charity Samaritan's Purse has airlifted a 30-bed emergency field hospital to one of the hardest-hit Jamaican towns to provide medical aid after a local hospital was destroyed by Hurricane Melissa last week.

Samaritan's Purse deployed an emergency field hospital to the "devastated coastal town" of Black River on Sunday, according to an announcement.

Being erected in the "ground zero" of Melissa's destruction in the island country, the hospital consists of over 30 inpatient beds and an operating room, intensive care unit, emergency room, obstetric ward, laboratory, pharmacy and blood bank. 

The deployment came five days after Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 storm in Black River, with winds of up to 185 miles per hour, which left the local hospital destroyed and the town without power. 

Samaritan's Purse has also airlifted 100 tons of relief to Jamaica, including community water systems that can serve 10,000 people per day, shelter materials, household water filters, solar lights and hygiene kits. The organization is collaborating with over 200 church partners on the ground in Jamaica and plans to conduct additional relief flights in the near future.  

Hurricane Melissa was the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica. The island experienced catastrophic storm surge, high winds and flooding rain. Thousands of people remain in shelters and most of Jamaica still does not have power. 

"Hurricane Melissa hammered a path of destruction across Jamaica, severely damaging homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses," said Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham in a statement. "Please pray for those who have lost so much and for our teams as we go in Jesus' Name." 

Several Christian aid organizations have launched relief responses following Melissa. 

Convoy of Hope has deployed to White Hall, another hard-hit area of Jamaica, where it is distributing food, clean water and other essential supplies. Meanwhile, Catholic Relief Services, which has a team of over 100 staff in hard-hit Haiti as well as local partners in Jamaica and other nearby nations, is working to secure offices and warehouses and "preparing prepositioned shelter and clean water supplies" in addition to "helping people secure their businesses, homes, and fields." 

The Salvation Army started providing "emergency shelter, food assistance, and clean water distribution" with the assistance of national, regional and international partners. However, the charity organization reported in an update published Monday that several of its outposts in hard-hit western Jamaica suffered severe damage, including "widespread power and network outages."

Mud damage and flooding at the Salvation Army's divisional headquarters left vehicles immobilized. 

In light of the damage, the organization has prioritized locating and providing support to its staff and their families as it continues its mission of ministering to the victims of Hurricane Melissa.