News|Climate CrisisJamaica declares disaster as ‘Monstrous Melissa’ ravages islandPrime minister says he expects ‘loss of life’ after powerful hurricane damages homes, hospitals and inundates farmland.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a “disaster area” after Hurricane Melissa barrelled across the Caribbean island as one of the most powerful storms on record, leaving behind a trail of devastation.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a “disaster area” after Hurricane Melissa barrelled across the Caribbean island as one of the most powerful storms on record, leaving behind a trail of devastation.
The hurricane – which made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Tuesday – ripped off the roofs of homes, inundated the nation’s “bread basket”, and felled power lines and trees, leaving most of its 2.8 million people without electricity.
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Holness said in a series of posts on X that the storm has “ravaged” his country and the disaster declaration gives his government “tools to continue managing” its response to the storm.
“It is clear that where the eye of the hurricane hit, there would be devastating impact,” he told the United States news channel CNN late on Tuesday. “Reports we have had so far include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well, and damage to our road infrastructure.”
Holness said he does not have any confirmed reports of deaths at the moment. “But with a Category 5 hurricane, … we are expecting some loss of life,” he added.
“It is clear that where the eye of the hurricane hit, there would be devastating impact,” he told the United States news channel CNN late on Tuesday.
The prime minister said his government was mobilising quickly to start relief and recovery efforts by Wednesday morning.
Even before Melissa slammed into Jamaica, seven deaths – three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic – were caused by the hurricane.
Advertisement Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s local government minister, told reporters on Tuesday evening that the storm had caused damage across almost every parish in the country and left most of the island without electricity.
He said the storm had put the parish of St Elizabeth, the country’s main agricultural region, “under water”.
“The damage to St Elizabeth is extensive, based on what we have seen,” the minister said, adding that “almost every parish is experiencing blocked roads, fallen trees and utility poles, and excess flooding in many communities.”
“Work is presently on the way to restore our service, to give priorities to the critical facilities, such as hospitals and water and pumping stations,” he added.
The storm caused “significant damage” to at least four hospitals, Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.
A roof was completely torn off a building at a section of the Savanna La Mar Public General Hospital due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. The system made landfall earlier today near New Hope district in Westmoreland, Jamaica.
Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.