Damage to the country due to Hurricane Melissa is estimated at about US$6 billion to US$7 billion based on preliminary figures, says Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. In a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (Nov. 4), Dr. Holness said that the figure is equivalent to about 28 per cent to 32 per cent of...

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has established 22 humanitarian assistance and disaster relief outposts to scale up the response to marooned communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, provided an update on the undertaking while making a statement in the House of Representatives on November 4. The outposts have been established in...

The Government has announced a building support programme and set of relief measures by the National Housing Trust (NHT), including a six-month moratorium on mortgage payments to help families rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. “Across the island, our first priority has been to deliver food, water and medical support to every affected community, but we know that beyond...

Funds have been allocated to Members of Parliament (MP) for the trucking of water to communities now without the commodity due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa. Speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (Nov. 4), Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, informed that constituencies in the most severely impacted parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, St....

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, is encouraging Jamaicans to remain positive as the nation prepares for the impact of category five hurricane Melissa. The system is expected to make landfall early Tuesday (October 28) as a powerful system bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall over the entire country, causing flooding and landslides. “Category five would be a really...

Jamaica has been receiving pledges of support for hurricane preparation and recovery from its regional and international partners, says Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. “We have received calls of support from our partners – the United Nations, United States, the British, the French, the European Union, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). “All the CARICOM countries...

With a Mandatory Evacuation Order issued for several communities along the country’s south coast, Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, is urging citizens to obey the legal directive. The Mandatory Evacuation Order applies to several vulnerable communities along the south coast as Hurricane Melissa moves closer to the island. The communities include Port Royal in Kingston; Portland Cottage...