Jamaica Advances Recovery Efforts Nearly a Year After Hurricane Melissa

The Insurance Association of Jamaica says 49% of US dollar hurricane claims and 54% of non-motor claims linked to Hurricane Melissa were fully paid by the end of September, while 90% of motor-vehicle claims and 77% of Jamaican-dollar claims were settled. The IAJ says it is stepping up communication and reviews amid complaints from policyholders, including the JHTA, about delays and settlement calculations.

Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs Ministry says the Diaspora has not complained about the slow use of Hurricane Melissa donations, despite the Auditor General’s finding that only about 1.7 per cent had been spent months later. Permanent Secretary Sheila Sealy Monteith told Parliament the ministry’s role is to facilitate aid, not decide how it is used, and said confidence in Jamaica’s handling of support remains intact.

Nineteen students in Savanna-la-Mar and Salt Spring, Westmoreland, received textbooks after a student-led initiative, Supplies4Students Jamaica, raised nearly $400,000 following Hurricane Melissa. Led by recent St Andrew High graduate Joanna Powers in partnership with Project STAR, the effort helped families replace lost books and return children to school.

Jamaica 4-H Clubs will spend about $20 million, with support from the CHASE Fund, to set up four model gardens at infant schools in western Jamaica, including communities hard hit by Hurricane Melissa. The “Gardens of Excellence” project aims to build children’s early interest in agriculture and food production, helping grow the next generation of farmers.

Western Jamaica will get a more than $20 million CHASE Fund-backed school-garden pilot called “Gardens of Excellence,” starting at infant schools in communities hit by Hurricane Melissa. Led by Jamaica 4-H Clubs and the Regional Youth in Agriculture Task Force, the project will use gardens as living classrooms to teach children farming, food production and environmental stewardship.

ODPEM has completed the transfer of the Support Jamaica website and its donor data from private developer Amber Innovations into a secure Government environment, after earlier concerns over ownership and privacy. The agency says it remains the data controller, has found no evidence of any breach, and says the move strengthens oversight of the Hurricane Melissa relief platform.

Jamaica’s sovereign credit ratings stayed stable at S&P BB, Fitch BB- and Moody’s Ba3 after Hurricane Melissa, helping support investor confidence as the country funds reconstruction. The ratings matter because they influence borrowing costs and access to capital, while agencies will now watch whether debt keeps falling once rebuilding spending eases.

Residents of hurricane-hit Parottee, St Elizabeth remain split over government plans to relocate them to nearby Luana, after Hurricane Melissa damaged the coastal fishing community last year. Prime Minister Andrew Holness said consultations have been held and that the move is meant to reduce future risk, but some residents are ready to go while others insist on rebuilding and staying.

Jamaica’s tourism sector is still dealing with unresolved insurance claims nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa, with JHTA president O’Brian Heron saying 61% of claims remain unsettled and many operators have accepted less than their losses. Tourism Director Donovan White said Minister Edmund Bartlett is expected to press insurers for faster payouts. The delays come as the winter tourist season approaches.