Thick Mud and Ruined Instruments: Power Company Volunteers Help a Flooded St James Church Get Back on Its Feet

• Melissa’s floodwaters filled a Catherine Hall church with water and mud
• Furniture, musical instruments and other property were destroyed
• JPS volunteers removed benches, shovelled mud and power-washed the interior
• More than 200 care packages went to residents

Hurricane Melissa did not tear the roof off the Holiness Christian Church in Catherine Hall, St James. It flooded it. When the water went down, the sanctuary was left coated in thick mud, and furniture, musical instruments and other property had been ruined, the Jamaica Observer reported.

On November 20, 2025, the JPS Foundation sent its volunteer programme, VOLTS (Volunteers On Location To Serve), to help. Volunteers carried out benches and instruments, cleared the mud with push brooms and shovels, power-washed interior surfaces and hauled away debris. They also handed out more than 200 care packages with food, cleaning supplies, water and ice to people in the community.

“Spaces like churches play an important role in providing comfort, connection and refuge,” said Sophia Lewis, head of the JPS Foundation. Pia Baker, JPS senior vice-president for customer experience and commercial, said: “Our volunteers have been busy helping residents to clear debris and delivering care packages.” Pastor Trevor Headley of the church was grateful: “I must commend the JPS Foundation and their volunteers for how they showed up for us.”

The Foundation said it had by then supplied nearly 4,000 care packages in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth and St Ann, working with partners including Food For The Poor Jamaica and the Digicel Foundation.

Flood damage is different from wind damage, and often more expensive than it first appears. Mud carries sewage and debris, soaks into walls and floors, and leaves behind mould if it is not removed fast. Speed matters: the sooner a building is emptied, cleaned and dried, the more of it can be saved.

For churches and homeowners in low-lying parts of Montego Bay and other flood-prone areas, the lessons are practical. Know whether your insurance covers flood as well as wind. Keep valuable equipment raised or easy to move. And when choosing where to build or buy, check the flood history of the site as carefully as the view.

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