In the three weeks since Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica with devastating winds of up to 185 mph, authorities have been busy addressing immediate crises and assessing damage. The most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Caribbean country, Melissa smashed into homes and property and destroyed power lines across the island, initially leaving about 70 percent of the country without power. Many roads remain blocked by severe flooding, landslides and debris, making it difficult for aid to reach those living in the mountainous, more rural areas of the island. This week authorities confirmed The hurricane killed 45 people; another 15 people are still missing.
Melissa also struck Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where homes and farms were damaged, many thousands were displaced and dozens were killed. Jamaican casualties were even more ambitious. Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the economic losses suffered by the island were equal to approximately 30 percent of last year's gross domestic product. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) later released this figure. will most likely only grow.
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Farmers and fisheries across the island, many of which were still recovering from Hurricane Beryl in 2024, suffered huge losses of equipment, crops and livestock. One of the areas hardest hit by Melissa was St. Elizabeth Parish, an agricultural center known as the breadbasket of Jamaica. Floyd Green, the agriculture minister, said this week that the storm had affected more than 70,000 farmers and nearly 41,500 hectares of farmland. The destruction has implications for both farmers' livelihoods and the country's overall food security. Melissa left tens of thousands of people need immediate food assistanceAccording to UNDP.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced $3 billion plan to help growers recover and will begin distributing seeds this week. This is the first step in a long-term recovery process that raises serious questions about how to rebuild Jamaica's food system, especially at a time when climate change will make such storms more likely.
“Farmers are trying to salvage what they can,” said Esther Pinnock, public relations officer for the Jamaica Red Cross. “But many will start from scratch.”
Near one in five Jamaicans According to the World Bank, he works in agriculture. Crops such as bananas, sugarcane, yams and others are grown for both export and domestic consumption. Pinnock noted that while more urban areas, such as Kingston and St. Catherine, were spared the worst impacts of the weather, these centers were also feeling the devastation experienced by the country's farmlands; Markets such as Kingston's Coronation Market, usually filled with local farmers selling produce, are noticeably empty.
Livestock producers have also been affected; Caribbean Broilers, one of Jamaica's largest poultry producers, told Pinnock the company has lost half of its poultry stock. More than a million animals in the agricultural sector died due to the storm, Agriculture Secretary Green said.
Due to widespread destruction, humanitarian groups working in the area have largely focused on meeting the immediate needs of the population for food, water and shelter. Water to Wine, an American non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to clean drinking water, is partnering with schools and hospitals in Montego Bay to distribute thousands of water filters. “Without meeting these basic needs, long-term recovery is simply not possible,” said Jennifer Jones, head of Hunger Relief International.
However, aid has been slower to reach rural areas of the island. Help for some Jamaicans also came through unofficial channels. Marcia Wigley and Tay Simms, two friends living in New York City, recently raised thousands of dollars to send food and other essentials to their relatives living in Jamaica.
“The biggest problem, and it's a huge problem for them, is food,” said Wigley, who was able to contact family living in Manchester Parish despite limited cell service. Simms, whose uncle and cousin live in St. Elizabeth, agreed. Coconut and mango trees were knocked down on her family's land and the water tank was “completely ripped out of the ground,” Simms said.
Wigley and Simms exceeded their goal of raising $5,000 in two days and hope to soon begin supplying essential goods such as rice and flour, as well as shelf-stable forms of protein such as canned meats. For them, it is a small thing they can do now to provide some relief before the long road to recovery begins.
“It’s going to take them a while to find themselves again,” Wigley said. “You can’t just grow crops overnight.”
Some aid groups are already exploring how Jamaicans can rebuild in a way that fits a different reality. After Hurricane Beryl, Pinnock said, the Jamaica Red Cross worked to help farmers adopt climate-smart farming practices – the idea being that these measures would make them better prepared to withstand future hurricanes. The organization trained farmers on how to farm in hilly areas to prevent flooding, as well as how to protect their livestock.
Of course, Hurricane Melissa demonstrated that communities will likely need even better measures to withstand stronger storms. due to global warming. “What we have is not enough,” Pinnock said. She urged that future recovery efforts must go beyond what we know.
