TORONTO — The Canadian Red Cross is sending relief to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa tore through the area earlier this week.

Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane on Tuesday with wind speeds reaching 295 kilometres per hour.

The hurricane has been blamed for at least 19 deaths in Jamaica and 31 in nearby Haiti.

About 18,000 relief supplies were flown from a warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., to Jamaica on Friday, where they were to be distributed by Jamaican Red Cross workers.

Relief items sent over include shelter kits, blankets, menstrual hygiene products, solar lamps and mosquito nets.

Canadian Red Cross director Nazira Lacayo says those supplies were requested by Jamaica, adding that many people were forced to flee their homes with just the clothes on

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