Jamaica struggles to remove debris from Hurricane Melissa as communities remain cut off

U.N. officials revealed Thursday that Hurricane Melissa deposited nearly 5 million tons of debris across western Jamaica, significantly hampering aid distribution and recovery efforts. The massive amount of waste would require approximately 480,000 standard truckloads to clear, according to the United Nations Development Program.

“We need to act fast because delay means blocked roads, vital services at a standstill, lost income and increased suffering,” warned Kishan Khoday, the agency’s representative in Jamaica, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.

Local government officials reported that the catastrophic storm damaged approximately 120,000 structures, tearing roofs off buildings and affecting around 90,000 families in Jamaica’s western region. More than a week after the Category 5 hurricane made landfall, over 2,400 people remain housed in 180 emergency shelters across the island.

Recovery crews continue to battle challenging conditions as they work to clear roadways blocked by landslides and flooding. According to Alvin Gayle, director general of Jamaica’s emergency management office, 27 communities remain isolated and unreachable by land transportation.

The human toll of this disaster weighs heavily on Jamaica’s leadership. Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed his personal anguish over the situation, stating, “I hear the cry of every baby that is now hungry in a community that is not yet reached. It goes to bed with me.”

Infrastructure damage remains extensive across Jamaica, with approximately half the island still without electricity. Authorities have deployed generators and established Wi-Fi hubs in strategic locations to provide some relief to affected communities.

“We are making progress every day in restoring power, telecommunications, water, clearing roads and delivering aid,” Gayle stated, acknowledging the difficult circumstances facing both residents and emergency personnel. “We understand these have been some challenging times.”

Hurricane Melissa ranks among the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded, with preliminary damage estimates reaching at least $6 billion, according to Prime Minister Holness. The catastrophic storm has claimed at least 32 lives in Jamaica and another 43 in neighboring Haiti, where 13 people remain missing.

The hurricane’s destructive path also extended to eastern Cuba, where authorities had evacuated thousands of residents before the storm made landfall. The multi-national impact underscores the exceptional power of this weather system.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general whose Office for Project Services is assisting Jamaica with relief operations, highlighted the extraordinary scale of the disaster: “This Category five hurricane has left a trail of extensive damage, impacting nearly six million people. Specifically in Jamaica, the hurricane has destroyed homes and vital infrastructure amounting to nearly one third of the nation’s GDP from last year.”

The economic implications for Jamaica could be long-lasting. With damage equivalent to approximately one-third of the country’s annual GDP, the island nation faces a daunting rebuilding process that will likely require substantial international assistance and investment.

Prime Minister Holness noted that roughly 600,000 people in Jamaica – more than 20 percent of the island’s population – have been affected by Hurricane Melissa. He cautioned that relief operations will need to continue for several months to address the extensive damage and humanitarian needs.

The situation in Jamaica highlights the increasing intensity of Atlantic hurricanes in recent years, a trend many climate scientists attribute to warming ocean temperatures. For island nations in the Caribbean, which often have limited resources and vulnerable infrastructure, such powerful storms present an existential threat to both economic stability and human security.

As cleanup efforts continue across Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, international aid organizations are mobilizing resources to supplement local recovery efforts, though the scale of destruction presents formidable logistical challenges.