Rebuilding from the ruins - Post Hurricane Melissa : A story of resilient Jamaican families

“God was with us. Anyone in Jamaica who survived this hurricane,  can no longer say God is not real. He was here with us and brought us through.” Judene Brown, Resident  of Westmoreland, Jamaica. 

Against the backdrop of the scorching midday sun, Judene Brown looks towards the horizon with gratitude. A solitary tear flows down her cheek bearing the weight of weeks of uncertainty.  She is hopeful. The storm has passed and as time progresses, she sees the promise  of renewal.

“What you guys are doing  - the effectiveness and the speediness that we saw -  we are so grateful because we were without hope,” 

she says recounting the horror of the destruction faced in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Melissa – being plunged into darkness, inundated with mosquitoes and frogs, and their home almost completely flooded out.

“Oh my God the frogs  - we aren’t used to these frogs – and then the  flooding. Most of us were completely flooded out. We had nothing. No clothes, nothing. But the fact that we were able to come together helped …and when we saw that truck, and then more trucks coming,  the more the trucks came , the more we knew that help is coming.”

One month post-Melissa, Judene’s family, residents of  Ferris Cross in Westmoreland, are among thousands of Jamaican families still displaced, despite round-the-clock relief efforts of over 90 organizations, including Government, UN and other international and local humanitarian actors,  working to improve coverage in underserved western communities.

When Hurricane Melissa struck seven parishes in Jamaica’s western corridor in late October,  it upended lives and livelihoods across of hundreds of families. Homes were destroyed, leaving piles of rubble where memories were once created. Schools ground to a halt, as classroom tables and benches substituted as beds for the homeless. The winds, rain,  and rising waters of Hurricane Melissa swept away practically everything in  their path, crops, electricity poles, businesses, churches, possessions, animals and even vehicles. While portions of the country were flattened, the spirit of community was evident. 

Over in Whitehouse, Dale Johnson 72,  looks over the ruins of his furniture workshop, unsure of how or when he may be able to retrieve his tools buried beneath the rubble and start to rebuild. While the workshop that has been established since the 1970s has weathered many storms – he says Hurricane Melissa was different.

“We’ve faced many  but never suffered this catastrophic damage yet. Hurricane Beryl tore  off a few zinc (roof sheets)  , but the structure remained but this time,  Hurricane Melissa moved everything!”,  he declared, motioning towards a large 40-foot container that was tossed many yards during the hurricane.

“It’s a real setback at this time, so it is going to be low-key Christmas for us,” he added, noting that  five other workers also lost their livelihoods, leaving families in limbo on the eve of the Christmas season.

As  one of the fastest growing  and well-established furniture businesses  in the Whitehouse community, Mr. Johnson explained that they worked for a wide area.  He is thankful that many customers were  “sympathizing” with them, and said that once electricity is restored, they would try to protect some of the nearly completed furniture items.

For the time being , Mr. Johnson , a divorcee , who also lost his home, is sleeping in an unoccupied concrete structure nearby. He hopes to retrofit a container  to serve as his temporary home.

“I don’t know if there is any assistance or any support that can be provided to revive and rebuild. It is a massive undertaking; a lot of debris from the area is dumped here . It also can pose a danger as frivolous persons may come and just light a match and that would be worse. So, we are just hoping  that we might be able to survive  all this and rebuild.”

Faith and Family Unity 

“Everything is chaos at this point, but family unity keeps us together,” Judene says of her close-knit family, that is headed by a strong single mother -  a  diabetic amputee, who she says is “still a fighter.” There is also her God-fearing grandmother who raised she and her younger sister, and her extended family, who are all hunkered down  in the home of the nearest relative that was safe.

But this young mother, like most Jamaicans, is resilient. While she smiles through the uncertainty, she desperately wants to rebuild and return to normalcy. 

At the one-month anniversary of Hurricane Melissa, over 1,100 people remained crowded in 88 emergency shelters island wide, with some displaced households also forced to shelter with relatives, in churches and other informal facilities.

Partnering to bring hope

Judene and her sister have arrived early at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)/ Water Mission community distribution point, where  World Central Kitchen, a global NGO, is preparing to distribute  their daily hot lunches ( over 1 million meals so far distributed around the country), and UNICEF, in collaboration with Water Mission, is providing clean safe drinking water. 

She has left her two girls at “home”.

With food and safe drinking water no longer a concern,  Judene says given the scorching Jamaican heat,  water storage was now more of a priority.

“To be honest with you , the way that it is so hot, we need water. We need big enough containers to store our water because these frogs are slippery and they can creep through surfaces. If I see a frog,  I am done with that water. We need safe containers,” she pleaded.

Relief Efforts to Date 

Since Hurricane Melissa struck, the spirit of solidarity and resilience has shone across Jamaica, where the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has assisted approximately 103,000 people with emergency food kits and is now transitioning to cash-based transfers  which gives families greater flexibility to meet their needs and helps boost local markets. 

WFP also supported the expansion of the Jamaica Household Damage, Impact and Needs Assessment helping to conduct gap analyses and map food assistance coverage and integrate findings into broader social protection planning. To date, more than 26,000 households have been assessed. 

In terms of logistical support , the Agency also helped to strengthen supply chains through the establishment of nine Mobile Storage Units and coordinated the processing of 85 shipments, totalling 2,235 metric tons of food and supplies, via the WFP–CDEMA Control Tower. In partnership with the Emergency Telecommunications Sector, connectivity was restored at 68 sites, including hospitals, benefiting over 24,500 people. These efforts highlight the importance of preparedness, partnerships, and innovation in ensuring timely, life-saving support and reinforcing resilience across the Caribbean.

Shelter has also remained a priority with more than 14,000 tarpaulins distributed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), offering protection to families and allowing quick resumption of services at 26 damaged health centres. 

With more than 279,000 people still displaced, IOM  is recruiting partners to undertake shelter recovery, debris removal and psychosocial support in the four affected parishes and is currently assessing community centres that could be upgraded to emergency shelters, in support of government's move to resume school in January.

In the days after Hurricane Melissa, access to clean water became a lifeline for families trying to regain a sense of normalcy. UNICEF , working closely with Water Mission International, moved quickly to set up treatment points where water could be safely processed and then trucked into surrounding communities. 

Across Westmoreland, 20 distribution sites were established, equipped with storage tanks and standpipes to ensure that households could collect water close to home. To help families store it safely, UNICEF provided 2,500 jerrycans and 6,000 buckets, along with 60 large 1,000-gallon tanks for communities and institutions. 

Together with Water Mission International and Global Support Development, the team delivered more than 980,000 litres of safe drinking water to households and health facilities. Thanks to coordinated efforts with the government, more than 80 per cent of national water systems are now back online, and assessments are underway to identify the schools and health centres that will receive support to rebuild their WASH infrastructure.

Amid ongoing uncertainty, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) partnered with the Ministry of Health and Wellness to help restore health services as well as  hope. In the initial days and weeks following the storm, PAHO coordinated 12 emergency medical teams, alongside the Ministry of Health and Wellness, providing care through over 6,483 consultations , 226 admissions,  and 78 major  and 139 minor surgeries.  A total of 19 live births symbolized resilience itself , despite the storm’s destruction. 

Health facilities bore the brunt of Melissa’s fury. Of the 101 primary health care centres in the most affected parishes, 58 sustained major damage. Together with the government , regional health authorities, and NGOs, PAHO is reinforcing emergency repairs to these centres and 5 hospitals, ensuring continuation of care even in the most devastated areas. Beyond the visible destruction, PAHO also strengthened disease surveillance and expanded laboratory capacity for leptospirosis, ensuring rapid confirmation of diagnosis and treatment before disease spread.

Beyond the provision of immediate relief including food shelter , water and health system strengthening , the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and other  partners in the Protection Sector , are also supporting the Government to ensure that the needs of children, women, girls, persons with disabilities, the elderly  and  are other vulnerable groups are met, and that they are protected from exploitation and abuse, given their heightened risk during disasters. 

“Coordination continues to be central to the relief efforts”, says UN Resident Coordinator, Dennis Zulu, who has lauded the leadership of the Government of Jamaica, and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), with strong support from UN OCHA. He also praised the ongoing collaboration between relevant Government Ministries and Agencies, the JDF, which remains central to distribution efforts,  and other UN Agencies and local and international partners.

“Across all these efforts, the UN coordination system has worked hand-in-hand with the ODPEM and relevant Ministries, ensuring that assistance is data-driven, needs-based and nationally led. This partnership remains central to collective recovery,”  Mr. Zulu maintained.

The Road Ahead

As Jamaica is already turning its gaze toward recovery, with the strong support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and several other agencies. Clearing debris, helping small businesses get back on their feet, and providing cash support to families are just the beginning. Recovery, Mr. Zulu says, will require everyone—government, all 22 UN agencies, private sector, civil society, and the communities themselves—working side by side.

Transitioning from crisis to rebuilding is daunting, but hope endures. 

Judene draws strength from her faith and the values passed down by her grandmother. She speaks for many.

“You showed up, without any strings attached, and we’re grateful for that  – thank you. We will get through this.” 

Her words echo the gratitude and resilience that will carry Jamaica forward, together, into the future.