Lead Stories

Ruth Lyn Deer is moved to tears as she recounts her experience during Hurricane Melissa, which led to a section of her roof being ripped off her home in Lacovia.
December 9, 2025 by Ashanti Lawson

‘I cried the whole night’

Reaching Cobie Ridge – a quiet settlement about seven miles southeast of Black River and roughly five miles from Santa Cruz– on Wednesday was no easy feat. Fallen trees, light poles, and broken…
Onlookers view houses and motor vehicles that were left submerged on Gibson Close in Mandeville, Manchester, after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025 by Sashana Small

Firefighters save Mandeville residents from flooded homes

Residents of Gibson Close, off Ward Avenue, in Mandeville had faced flooding before, but never one severe enough to submerge their homes. On Tuesday, as Hurricane Melissa battered the area,…
Betty-Lyn Brown, a 60-year-old resident of Compound in Alligator Pond, Manchester, explains how a section of her house got washed awayed during the passage of Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday.
December 9, 2025 by Sashana Small

‘I’m homeless now’

Betty-Lyn Brown struggled to hold back tears as she recounted the horror she experienced on Tuesday when Hurricane Melissa tore through her coastal community in Alligator Pond, Manchester. The…
Ann Marie Young’s two-bedroom house that was damaged by a fallen tree in Roaring River in St Ann. Young’s daughter suffered a broken leg during the mishap on Tuesday Night after the passing of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025 by Tanesha Mundle

St Ann faces long road to recovery

Hurricane Melissa has left St Ann in ruins, with homes destroyed, roofs torn off, businesses damaged, and families struggling with loss and uncertainty. Across the parish, residents are counting their…
A section of The Estuary in St James was seen flooded a day after the passage of the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025 by Adrian Frater

MoBay devastated

Western Bureau” When the sun rose on Wednesday morning, Montego Bay was a shadow of its former self. The popular tourism gem, once known for its lively streets and welcoming beaches, had been torn…
Edward David Marston, farmer of Baillieston, Clarendon, clears a section of his 15-acre farm which was damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025 by Karen Madden

Farmer Marston reflects on the worst storm of his life

Food security will be a major concern as Jamaica begins to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa. The issue extends beyond local consumption, as much of the country’s agricultural…
Residents of Cornwall Street, Compound in Trelawny look at the damage done to their homes after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which swept through the island on October 28.
December 9, 2025 by Livern Barrett

Trelawny 'like a war zone'

Numerous roofless buildings, flooded streets, downed light posts and electrical wires, along with countless sheets of zinc strewn almost everywhere, stood as tell-tale signs of the trail of…
Denise 'Macka' Sinclair, of Bottom Halse Hall in Clarendon, says Hurricane Melissa caused the sinkhole behind her house to rise to window level so she had to run out due of fear.
December 9, 2025 by Karen Madden

Melissa revisits trauma on Halse Hall family

Haunted by memories of their matriarch who they lost during flood rains in 2021, a family in Bottom Halse Hall, Clarendon was forced to flee their home as flood waters from a nearby pond, swollen by…
Jesse Samuel, fisherman of Rocky Point in Clarendon, said even though his house was damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday, he is giving thanks for life and that his boat engines were spared. He his making plans to head out to sea by th
December 9, 2025 by Karen Madden

A horrible day in Rocky Point

Unlike Hurricane Beryl last year, Hurricane Melissa did not wreak widespread destruction on the fishing village of Rocky Point in Clarendon. However, having fled Pedro Cays ahead of this week's…