Four urgent lessons for Jamaica from Puerto Rico’s troubled hurricane recovery

Across Jamaica, streets are littered with torn off roofs, splinters of wood and other debris left behind by Hurricane Melissa. Downed power lines have left communities in the dark and many flooded and wind damaged houses unsuitable for life.

Recovering from destruction one of the most powerful storms in the Atlanticwhich occurred on October 28, 2025, will take months and possibly years in some regions. This work is made much more difficult by the island's isolation.

As a researcher who has thoroughly researched disaster recovery in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017, I know that the decisions Jamaica makes in the days and weeks following the disaster will impact its recovery for many years to come. Puerto Rico's mistakes contain several important lessons.

How is island restoration different?

The islands face obstacles that most mainland communities do not face. Geographical isolation makes any problem worse in ways that significantly impede both emergency response and long-term recovery.

Communities can be easily cut off by damaged roadsespecially in rugged areas such as the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Every damaged port facility, every closed airport, every blocked road increases isolation in both the short and long term.

As happened in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, in the first days after a disaster, basic supplies such as tarps, batteries, fresh food, water and generators may become scarce.

Weeks and months later, reconstruction materials could take a long time to arrive, extending the recovery time far beyond what most mainland communities would have to endure. This isn't just a ploy to raise prices; it is a reality that island supply chains and shipping infrastructure are under stress.

Research on Effects of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico showed how the island's isolation, limited port capacity and dependence on imports create unique vulnerabilities that slow recovery from natural disasters.

Local organizations: from response to recovery

One of the most important lessons I learned in Puerto Rico is that local non-profits and public organizations are essential first responders during the emergency phase and then become recovery leaders.

These organizations know their communities intimately: who is elderly and housebound, which areas will experience the greatest need, and how to navigate local conditions.

Right now, Jamaican churches, community groups and local organizations are working in emergency response mode – testing residents, distributing water and providing shelter. For example, Jamaica Council of Churcheswith extensive experience in responding to natural disasters, began coordinating relief efforts through their social networks.

My research shows that in the long term local organizations are critical to helping families recover. They help navigate insurance claims, organize recovery efforts, provide mental health support and advocate for community recovery planning needs, among many functions.

However, many disaster recovery funding sources favor larger international nonprofits over local groups, even for distribution once supplies arrive. In Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria, only 10% of nearly $5 billion in federal contracts went to groups from Puerto Ricoand 90% flowed to mainland contractors.

Jamaica will face similar dynamics as international funding comes from sources such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Securing recovery funding through reputable Jamaican organizations can help recovery.

Diaspora: immediate assistance, long-term support

When institutional systems such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the government of Puerto Rico failed to provide assistance quickly enough after Hurricane Maria, Diaspora communities have become critical lifelines. Puerto Ricans in Chicago, New York and Florida organized relief efforts, raising funds and sending supplies within days.

Months later, Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland continued to provide financial support. They took in displaced family members and advocated for federal assistance. As my co-author Maura I. Toro-Morn and I document in our book: “Puerto Ricans in Illinois”. diasporas that mobilized across the state in the wake of Hurricane Maria demonstrated how Puerto Ricans supported the island during the crisis.

The Jamaican diaspora in London, Toronto, New York and Miami represents a huge potential resource for both immediate relief and long-term recovery.

Within hours of Melissa making landfall, those communities were already trying to contact family members and organize help. In Florida, there are Jamaican-American student associations at several universities. create a GoFundMe page to help in Jamaica. In Connecticut, Caribbean social groups gathered their communities to send support.

The Government of Jamaica has several diaspora engagement platforms such as JA Diaspora Engage, Global Diaspora Council of Jamaica And JAMPRO. But they are primarily focused on economic development and investment rather than coordinating disaster response. On the contrary, Haiti has created Haitian Diaspora Emergency Response Team in 2010 specifically to coordinate actions in the event of natural disasters. After the 2021 earthquake, he coordinated relief efforts for more than 200 organizations, raising $1.5 million in a matter of weeks.

Jamaica could adapt its existing diaspora infrastructure to include an emergency response component. It could provide regular updates on community needs during disasters, vet reliable local aid distribution partners, and facilitate the logistics of delivering supplies during years of recovery.

Churn Risk: When Emergencies Become Permanent

Perhaps the most devastating long-term impact of Hurricane Maria was the massive loss of population—a failure in recovery that began with emergency response decisions.

Puerto Ricans applying for federal assistance approximately 50% had new addresses on the US mainland.. Their displacement, which began as a temporary evacuation, became permanent when Puerto Rico was unable to restore viable living conditions quickly enough.

Without housing, jobs or basic services for months, families had no choice but to leave. ABOUT a quarter of Puerto Rico's schools were closed due to damage caused by the hurricane. I saw similar models in Maui, Hawaiias it recovered from devastating bushfires in 2023. Limited housing and high prices have made it impossible for many displaced residents to stay.

Of the nearly 400,000 people who left Puerto Rico in 2017 and 2018 after Maria, researchers estimate that 50,000 returned by 2019.

Jamaica faces similar risks. The exodus crisis does not occur suddenly—it is a slow bleed that accelerates as emergency response moves into long-term recovery.

Now is the time to prevent this pressure to leave. The government can help by providing realistic timelines for restoring services and prioritizing the reopening of schools. Every week the risk of temporary displacement becoming permanent emigration increases.

Building back better: recovery, not just retaliation

Disasters create opportunities to build back better, but this requires thinking about the future and not just recreate what existed before.

Jamaica can prioritize speed of emergency response by rebuilding the old system, or it can invest in a rebuild that also builds resilience for the future. Climate change is intensifying intense and destructive hurricanesleaving the Caribbean islands at increasing risk of damage.

Hurricane Maria exposed serious infrastructure vulnerabilities as Aging power grid collapsed due to Category 4 winds. Puerto Rico could be rebuilt with more modern and sustainable infrastructure. However, a RAND Corporation study found that reconstruction was largely restored the old, vulnerable centralized energy systemrather than transforming it with distributed renewable energy, reliable transmission lines, and microgrids that can withstand future storms.

Water systems, roads, schools and hospitals can also be rebuilt to better withstand storms and with reservation– such as backup power supplies and distributed water supply systems— help the island recover faster from future hurricanes.

These improvements are expensive, and Jamaica will need international donors to help finance the recovery, not just the immediate recovery. emergency response.

Decisions made today will echo for years to come. Jamaica's recovery does not have to repeat the mistakes of Puerto Rico.

This article has been republished from Talk under Creative Commons license. Read original article.