This post summarizes the immediate humanitarian and recovery situation in Jamaica two weeks after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025.
It draws together verified figures and on-the-ground reports from relief organizations, offering a clear-eyed view of needs and progress.
Overview of the Impact
Hurricane Melissa struck as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 mph, leaving a trail of destruction across the island.
Official tallies report 45 confirmed deaths and 15 people still missing, while more than 130 buildings were destroyed.
The displacement is substantial: roughly 30,000 households—concentrated mainly in western Jamaica—have been uprooted.
In the town of Black River, debris still blankets streets and basic services are intermittent as relief convoys continue to arrive.
Key figures at a glance
Humanitarian Response and Health Care
Relief organizations have mobilized rapidly.
Samaritan’s Purse set up makeshift emergency hospitals that have treated over 420 patients and performed about 12 surgeries for trauma and infection management.
Medic Corps has described conditions in southern and western parishes as a humanitarian crisis, citing critical shortages of food and potable water.
Medical response must be paired with public health measures—clean water, sanitation, vector control—to prevent secondary outbreaks.
Field hospitals and mobile clinics remain essential while damaged primary care facilities are repaired.
Immediate needs
Priority items on the ground include clean water, food, emergency shelter materials, and medical supplies.
Logistics to distribute these commodities safely to remote and flood-affected communities remain a bottleneck.
Infrastructure Restoration and Coordination
Restoring power is a top infrastructure objective.
The Jamaica Public Service Company has restored electricity to roughly 64% of customers (about 300,000 households).
Many communities are still without service.
Effective recovery requires coordinated planning between government agencies, the private sector, and international partners.
International assistance has been confirmed from countries including El Salvador, the United States, Belgium, and various members of the European Union.
Each is contributing funds, material aid, or technical support.
Where coordination must focus next
Debris clearance to reopen roads and targeted repair of critical infrastructure (water, power, health facilities) must be prioritized.
Establishing supply-chain resilience is important so that relief continues uninterrupted into the reconstruction phase.
Looking Ahead: Recovery and Resilience
Although initial relief is underway and some progress has been made, officials emphasize the long road to full recovery.
Rebuilding homes, livelihoods, and infrastructure will require sustained financing, local capacity-building, and integration of climate-resilient designs to reduce vulnerability to future storms.
From three decades in disaster management, the lessons are clear: short-term life-saving interventions must be paired with long-term reconstruction plans.
These plans should incorporate stronger building codes, improved drainage, and community-based early warning systems.
Here is the source article for this story: 2 weeks after Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica is working hard to recover