Hurricane Melissa
Eight months after Hurricane Melissa, business owners say uncertainty over rebuilding plans and limited access to finance are preventing the town’s economy from recovering
Unemployment is just 3.7 per cent. Yet Jamaica has 25,700 fewer people employed, a shrinking labour force and a decades-old…
The last five weeks have brought five connected developments to Black River’s recovery: a community road map backed by sobering business survey data, NaRRA on the ground with a master plan in development, a sparse Independence Day ceremony, a school principal’s alarm about students leaving class to work, and the diaspora filling gaps the formal programme has not yet closed. Together they map St Elizabeth ten months after Melissa.
Mortgagors will pay no more for peril insurance during the coming year, while many non-strata properties will receive higher coverage reflecting Jamaica’s increased rebuilding costs.
The four weeks between 7 July and 8 August 2026 have brought four distinct developments to Black River’s recovery: the Chamber of Commerce naming a lull, a community leader calling for strategic investment over handouts, the mayor confirming NaRRA is on the ground with a master plan in development, and STETHS named as the parish’s new Emergency Operations Command Centre. Together they map where the town’s recovery stands as the 2026 hurricane season peaks.
The UDC has announced plans to build more than 20,000 homes across Jamaica, with approximately half targeted at southwest Jamaica for post-Melissa reconstruction. In St Elizabeth, property owners are not yet celebrating. They are asking what UDC land acquisition means for what they already own, and forming legal working groups to find out.
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen has urged Jamaicans to transform the country’s celebrated resilience into collective action as…
A proposed reconstruction authority would coordinate billions of dollars in recovery work, accelerate major developments and override stalled approvals. Its…
A National Water Commission representative is still working to reassure communities that have been without reliable piped water supply for nine months following Hurricane Melissa — a situation that has direct and serious consequences for the habitability, hygiene, and property values of affected areas.
Jamaica’s post-Hurricane Melissa housing recovery is facing a major obstacle as unresolved land ownership issues continue to delay the delivery…
ANALYSIS | KINGSTON, Jamaica — Nine months after Hurricane Melissa killed 58 people, displaced 12,000, and inflicted an estimated US$2.4…
NEGRIL, Jamaica — Nine months ago today, Hurricane Melissa made landfall near this resort town as a Category 4 storm,…
Kingston, Jamaica, 17 July 2026 As communities across Jamaica continue to rebuild following Hurricane Melissa, a new documentary initiative is…
Kingston, Jamaica, 14 July 2026 The Urban Development Corporation has confirmed that plans are progressing for one of Jamaica’s largest…
How the US-Iran ceasefire, collapsing oil prices and the lingering economic shadow of Hurricane Melissa shaped Jamaica and the Caribbean in June 2026 — and what comes next.