LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY
Major towns in ruins, 4 dead in Black River in Melissa’s wake; rescue efforts intensify
Published:Thursday | October 30, 2025 | 12:14 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
There was a pall of gloom hanging over Black River, St Elizabeth, yesterday, as four bodies, three men and a woman, were discovered after being washed up by floodwaters generated by the fury of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.
Many people were trapped in the community for hours, as residents armed with machetes went out to clear the roadway. By midday, people were able to move around but not reach the destinations they would want to, as some roads remained blocked up to nightfall.
Because there was no electricity and no telephone service, most people were worried about the well-being of their relatives who they could not reach.
In the midst of the destruction, Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston reopened for relief flights, and Transport Minister Daryl Vaz announced that commercial flights would resume at both Norman Manley and Ian Fleming airports today at 7 a.m.
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, visiting Black River to assess the damage firsthand, described the area as “ground zero” for Hurricane Melissa. He confirmed that efforts to clear roadways and restore access were under way. Holness said the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and other agencies were working to deliver much-needed supplies to the affected areas.
Mayor Richard Solomon painted a dire picture, revealing that the town’s relief supplies, stored in containers and buildings, had been completely wiped out.
He appealed for the speedy distribution of supplies into the area for persons in need. He said response vehicles at the municipality, in addition to ambulances and police units, were damaged by extensive flooding.
Holness, who was airlifted to the area, reported that between 80 and 90 per cent of roofs from Treasure Beach to Black River had been torn off, with widespread destruction of buildings, including historic landmarks like churches, the courthouse, and the municipal corporation. The prime minister described the town’s infrastructure as “devastated”, but expressed hope that Black River would rebuild stronger and more resilient.
“A significant number of buildings have been destroyed. The Black River Hospital has been destroyed, along with several other buildings, including historic buildings – churches, courthouse and the municipal corporation,” Holness said.
He said the electricity grid in Black River has suffered devastation, adding that the entire infrastructure and “everything needed for the convenience of modern living is destroyed here in Black River”.
MASSIVE REBUILDING EFFORT
Signalling that it would take a massive effort to rebuild Black River, Holness said he envisions the historic town rising stronger and better.
Giving an update on the effects of the hurricane, Floyd Green, member of parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth South Western, said more than 90 per cent of the houses in Black River suffered infrastructural damage.
Green said communities that suffered significant infrastructure damage include Treasure Beach, Bigwoods, Mountainside, Barbary Hall and Middle Quarters.
Westmoreland was not spared the raging assault of Melissa, which left many areas of the parish in ruins. Dayton Campbell, the MP for Westmoreland Eastern, told The Gleaner yesterday that wooden houses had been flattened and the roofs of others had been torn off by the massive weather system.
The monster storm made landfall near New Hope in the constituency around noon on Tuesday, becoming the most powerful hurricane ever to hit the island.
Campbell said houses, schools, businesses and churches were damaged by the hurricane. “The majority of the roads are blocked and impassable from fallen trees. There’s literally no connection. One or two persons using Starlink and a few individuals occasionally get a little spotty thing from Flow, but there’s nothing else,” he added.
“It’s just total devastation. It looks like something from an apocalyptic-type movie. It’s terrible, terrible. Communication is almost non-existent from the majority of the communities right now, and you can’t get to them either,” he said.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie confirmed widespread flooding, landslides, and severe infrastructural damage in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, Manchester, and Clarendon.
At a press briefing yesterday, McKenzie said some 25,000 Jamaicans had sought safety at emergency shelters across the country, and the number was expected to increase amid the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
He said the authorities were assessing how to deal with the numbers on a long-term basis, noting that no one should be turned away and all shelters should remain open throughout this week.
McKenzie said assessments will be done to determine which shelters will stay open thereafter.
With recovery efforts in high gear, US President Donald Trump said his country is prepared to provide aid to Jamaica.
And Jamaica is set to benefit from £2.5 million in emergency humanitarian funding from the United Kingdom to support recovery efforts across the Caribbean following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
The funding will facilitate a rapid humanitarian response, including the delivery of emergency supplies such as shelter kits, water filters and blankets, aimed at preventing injuries and disease outbreaks, the British High Commission in Kingston said in a statement.
“The UK stands in full solidarity with the people of Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. We are deeply saddened by the loss and disruption this storm has caused,” said British High Commissioner to Jamaica Alicia Herbert.
With the majority of Jamaica Public Service customers in the dark, the Office of Utilities Regulation yesterday said it had approved an initial US$5 million from the Electricity Disaster Fund to help the company restore power to those affected.