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 storm was making its way to the Bahamas and Bermuda Thursday morning after killing at least seven in Jamaica and 27 more across the Caribbean this week.

Hurricane Melissa is set to trigger a $150 million Jamaica catastrophe bond designed to fund rebuilding efforts in the wake of the storm’s devastation across the island. This full trigger event means Jamaica catastrophe bondholders now face full payout,

Dozens of U.S. military personnel are bringing medical supplies and emergency gear after Hurricane Melissa killed at least 19 on Jamaica.

Hurricane conditions could last for three days straight in some places, AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva warned.

Jamaica is expected to be in the storm's eyewall, which refers to the band of dense clouds surrounding the eye of the hurricane. The eyewall generally produces the fiercest winds and heaviest rainfall, according to Deanna Hence, a professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Born and raised in Jamaica, Damion Gordon was back on the island for his sister's wedding when Category 5 Hurricane Melissa struck.

"Melissa is expected to bring 15 to 30 inches of rain to parts of Jamaica, with storm totals possibly reaching 40 inches. Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely," the embassy's weather warning said on Monday, Oct. 27, the day before the storm made landfall.