Information Americas, KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tues. Nov. 11, 2025: Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness has revealed that the record-breaking storm induced damages equal to just about one-third of Jamaica’s annual GDP.
Holness instructed Parliament recentkly that preliminary assessments present losses of between US$6 and $7 billion – or roughly 28% to 32% of Jamaica’s 2024 financial output -making Melissa probably the most damaging hurricane within the island’s historical past.
“This was not simply one other storm,” Holness declared. “Specialists say Melissa pushed the bodily limits of what’s attainable within the Atlantic, fueled by report sea temperatures. Its drive was so immense that seismographs tons of of miles away registered its passage. Hurricane Melissa wasn’t solely a tragedy – it was a warning.”
The Prime Minister warned that reconstruction prices will briefly push up Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio, forcing the federal government to invoke emergency fiscal provisions. He mentioned the administration will search assist from regional companions, multilateral businesses, and private-sector traders to stabilize the economic system.
Preliminary information suggests short-term financial output may shrink by 8% to 13%, a serious setback for an economic system already strained by Hurricane Beryl final yr.
Holness mentioned new measures would concentrate on climate-resilient rebuilding, together with plans to bury sections of the nationwide energy grid, improve coastal defenses, and waive import taxes on vital reduction gadgets equivalent to photo voltaic panels and Starlink satellite tv for pc kits.
“Each repaired bridge, re-roofed residence, and rebuilt street should be designed for the storms of tomorrow, not the storms of yesterday,” Holness mentioned.
Whereas Jamaica bore the brunt of Melissa’s affect, heavy rains additionally pummeled Haiti, flooding rivers and destroying almost 12,000 properties. Haitian officers confirmed 25 deaths, together with 10 kids.
In Cuba, authorities reported no fatalities after large-scale evacuations close to Santiago de Cuba, although they cited huge agricultural and infrastructure losses.
Regionally, AccuWeather estimates whole damages from Hurricane Melissa at US $48–52 billion, whereas Verisk Analytics pegs insured losses in Jamaica alone between US $2.2 billion and $4.2 billion.
The size of devastation has renewed calls throughout CARICOM for local weather reparations and debt reduction from high-emission nations. “That is what local weather injustice seems to be like,” mentioned one regional diplomat. “The Caribbean is paying the worth for carbon emissions we didn’t create.”
Holness echoed the sentiment, pledging to champion a regional resilience framework that ties reconstruction to inexperienced financing and renewable vitality transitions.
“Jamaica will rebuild stronger,” he mentioned. “However the world should hear. Our survival will depend on world motion, not sympathy.”
Jamaica is ready to obtain a full $150 million payout beneath its World Financial institution backed disaster bond following the devastation attributable to Hurricane Melissa – marking one of many largest single sovereign insurance coverage redemptions within the Caribbean’s historical past.
The World Bank, (Worldwide Financial institution for Reconstruction and Growth, IBRD AAA/Aaa) confirmed that the payout was robotically triggered after third-party evaluation by AIR Worldwide Company decided that the hurricane met pre-agreed parametric thresholds primarily based on the storm’s central strain and path, as reported by the U.S. Nationwide Hurricane Heart.
And Within the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastating affect, the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, (CCRIF-SPC) has introduced a record-breaking US$70.8 million payout to the Authorities of Jamaica — the most important single payout within the group’s historical past.
The Cayman Islands-based Caribbean and Central America Parametric Insurance coverage Facility mentioned the funds might be disbursed inside 14 days, pending closing mannequin verification, consistent with CCRIF’s dedication to hurry and transparency.
“This marks the most important single payout in CCRIF’s historical past and is a robust demonstration of the group’s parametric insurance coverage mannequin,” CCRIF mentioned in an announcement. This payout is Jamaica’s fourth from CCRIF, bringing the nation’s whole receipts to US$100.9 million since becoming a member of the power in 2007. Earlier funds included US$26.6 million following Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and earlier disbursements after Tropical Cyclones Zeta and Eta in 2020.
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