Melissa mauls MegaMart MoBay
Published:Friday | October 31, 2025 | 12:06 AMLuke Douglas/Business Reporter
MegaMart Wholesale Club in Montego Bay sustained severe damage, estimated in the millions of US dollars, when Hurricane Melissa ravaged the facility on Tuesday evening.
Gassan Azan Jr, the founder and CEO of MegaMart, faced a double blow as the powerful Category 5 storm also impacted his Bashco store in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. Due to communication breakdowns in the area, Azan is still unsure of the full extent of the damage at the Bashco location.
“There was 10 feet of water in MegaMart ... I can’t even communicate with anybody in Bashco Sav-la-Mar … There was no communication for the whole day today; we tried the police, we tried everything. We still don’t know what else happened down there,” Azan told The Gleaner on Wednesday.
Azan expressed concern that looting was taking place at the Montego Bay store as thieves took advantage of the chaos after the storm knocked out power.
“They are about to loot the Montego Bay store because the generator was breached so there’s no light down there,” Azan said.
Attempts by The Gleaner to reach police officials for comment were unsuccessful.
MegaMart’s Montego Bay location is one of four branches across Jamaica, offering a wide variety of goods, including grocery, bakery, haberdashery, clothing, electronics, liquor, food court, and pharmaceuticals, all under one roof.
Hurricane Melissa devastated the western side of the island, including St Elizabeth, traditionally known as Jamaica’s breadbasket.
Food security crisis
Azan raised concern over a potential food security crisis in western Jamaica.
“Food supply is going to be a very serious issue in the next few weeks. I think the prime minister needs to immediately make announcements about how he plans to allow food to come in because there’s no local production. The entire breadbasket has been wiped out,” Azan said.
Looking ahead, the businessman said his interests in western Jamaica have been set back possibly by a year because of the monstrous hurricane.
“As it is, it’s going to take a year to get back in business with all the equipment covered in water and all that,” he said, although noting that his businesses were insured.
Asked about the value of the damage to his businesses, Azan said it ran into millions of US dollars.
Azan also noted that the future of Montego Bay looks uncertain, with a long recovery ahead.
“Montego Bay will take a while to recover,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Cathrine Kennedy, general manager of Hi-Lo Food Stores, said all its stores in the Corporate Area would reopen by Thursday, but offered no comment on those in Montego Bay and Negril, which are in the hardest-hit areas.