Jamaica Moves into Recovery Mode: “We will get through this by working Together”

M.A. Dworkin

Jamaica - Hurricane Melissa, the strongest recorded storm to ever hit Jamaica, with winds exceeding 185 mph, has left a trail of death and destruction in its single night of rampage. Hardest hit was the western region of the island where Melissa made landfall as a Cat 5 storm and ripped a path of horror through everything that stood in its way, leaving in its wake hundreds of destroyed structures, completely demolished neighborhoods, catastrophic flash flooding, landslides and a life-threatening storm surge. 

Roads, infrastructure and the electricity grid were battered, leaving 70% of the island without power, and over one million people, a third of the nation, directly affected by the massive storm. At least nineteen are known dead.

“Hurricane Melissa has devastated Jamaica to levels never seen before,” said Dennis Zulu, a United Nations resident coordinator. “The grid is down in a substantial part of the country. Many roads are destroyed or cut off, hindering the United Nation’s ability to conduct initial assessments of the damage, so it is relying on drones and satellite imagery.”

“From the images that are coming in, we see homes submerged, infrastructure completely destroyed, entire communities that are really struggling just to survive at the moment,” said Brian Bogart, County Director for the World Food Programmes’ Caribbean Operations. “Relief teams are already on the ground in the western parts of the country where we expect to see the most severe destruction. We really need to urgently get assistance to them so they can get back on their feet as soon as possible.”

The entire island woke up from a nightmarish night of horror and slowly moved into a stunned recovery mode, clearing essential roads and working to restore downed power lines. Massive swatches of destruction and flooding inundated Howard Acres, the agricultural hub of Black River and the popular tourist town of Montego Bay (MoBay) along with surrounding areas.

"The most terrifying experience of my life, and I would not want to see it again," said a staff member at Black River Hospital, where Melissa made landfall.

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, announced the establishment of a high-level Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force and Donation Coordination Task Force, to guide the tourism sector’s structured response and recovery efforts.

Minister Bartlett said the new task forces will be instrumental in assessing damage, coordinating industry-wide support, and crafting a sustainable roadmap for recovery and resilience in the wake of the storm.

“The recovery of our tourism sector must be deliberate, coordinated, and compassionate,” said Minister Bartlett. “Through these task forces, we are ensuring that the welfare of our workers, the rehabilitation of our infrastructure, and the recovery of the tourism sector move in tandem. Their activities will be integrated into the national disaster response mechanism.”

Jamaica earned $4.3 billion from the tourism industry in 2024 with 4.3 million visitors. 1.6 million airline seats had been secured for the winter season, the largest amount on record. Tourism’s direct contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is over 10%. But when indirect contributions are included, such as jobs in related sectors, the total economic impact from tourism in Jamaica rises to over 30%.

“I’ve seen what happened in Montego Bay to construction projects, to agriculture and tourism,” one resident related. “Jamaica depends heavily on tourism and agriculture. It’s scary about what we’re facing going forward as an emerging nation.”

But the morning showed all able hands were at work, clearing the roads, starting on the downed power lines.

“I don’t think there’s a single soul on the island who hasn’t been affected by Hurricane Melissa, whether their roofs were blown off or their life threatened,” said Mr. Zulu.    

Relief organizations like World Food Programmes are mobilizing to provide Jamaica aid, but it will have to be a collective effort.  

"What we’re really focused on right now is trying to get food and water, along with logistics reports to enable the entire humanitarian response to be in coordination with the Jamaican Government, the UN, and NGO partners,” Mr. Bogart said. “Temporary infrastructure will be needed to enable assistance to people in need…We’re deploying mobile warehousing, we are looking at sending generators, we’re supporting airlifts from our offices in Barbados and Panama to bring in additional support, and we’re surging teams into Jamaica to support efforts.”

From its initial assessment, the U.N. said the recovery period would most likely be long and that the country would need extensive support and resources to get back to some level of normalcy. 

“We are a resilient people,” one resident stated. “We are a proud people. And we believe we are going to get through this by working together,”