As Hurricane Melissa ripped through Jamaica, becoming the strongest-ever storm to hit the country, as a category 5 hurricane, it surpassed the power and widespread damage of Hurricane Gilbert of 1988.
Residents were forced to seek shelter as gales of 185mph tore through the west of the country as the OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) estimates that every building in Black River, in the St Elizabeth parish, was destroyed beyond belief. As a result of the storm, well over 30 people died in Jamaica, with another 43 fatalities reported in nearby Haiti - where 13 others remain missing.
Melissa has caused unprecedented damage to Jamaica’s economy, with the Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, saying that the damage to homes and key infrastructure was roughly equivalent to 28 to 32 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product last year. This represented a loss of between $6bn to $7bn, which Mr Holness said was a conservative estimate.
Organisations such as the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation have raised more than £80,000 to go towards helping people to rebuild their homes. They are aiming to raise a total of £190k, which will supply roofing kits including zinc, lumber, nails and screws.
The Foundation was also set to send some 200,000+ meals ready to eat and 16,000 water jugs which they want to get to the most remote areas at the end of the island. Questions remain about how housing will be rebuilt, as satellite imagery show that 80 per cent of roofs in the west have been destroyed and short-term economic output could decline by 8 to 13 per cent.
A full picture of the money required to rebuild Jamaica is yet to emerge, but the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) has set an emergency appeal goal of £17.9m to reach 180,000 people over a 24-month period. Meanwhile, the IMF has drawn up plans to deliver £608m in resources to kickstart relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts.
But concerns remain that monetary aid alone will not be enough to rebuild Jamaica and make the country resilient against future threats.
