$1.9T or 56 per cent of GDP...latest ESSJ details trail of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa

Jamaica suffered $1.9 trillion or US$12.2 billion in damage, losses and other costs associated with the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa nearly one year ago, the latest Economic and Social Survey (ESSJ) has revealed.

The ESSJ is an annual publication by the Planning Institute of Jamaica which provides comprehensive data, reports and analysis on the country’s economic, social, and environmental developments.

Days before the one-year anniversary of the most powerful storm to hit Jamaica, the 2025 ESSJ says the J$1.9 trillion in damage it left behind was 56.7 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024.

It is also four times the cost of Hurricane Gilbert, the Category Four storm that made landfall in Jamaica on September 12, 1988.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in New Hope, Westmoreland on October 28 last year as a Category Five storm with maximum sustained winds near 295 kilometres per hour.

St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James, Trelawny and St Ann “bore the brunt of the disaster” the ESSJ noted, with most of the destruction concentrated on the population, public service infrastructure, productive sectors and areas of environmental and cultural significance.

The 2025 ESSJ noted that before the hurricane, Jamaica’s economy was projected to record real GDP growth of 2.2 per cent for financial year 2025/26 and 1.0 per cent for financial year 2026/27.

However, it said post disaster estimates indicated a contraction, with real GDP declining by 4.3 per cent for the last financial year and 0.7 per cent for the current financial year.

According to the publication, the housing sector in the affected areas sustained “extensive” damage, with over 85 000 houses impacted, 16 per cent of which were destroyed.

“The total cost of damage to the housing sector was estimated at J$767.8 billion or 22.9 per cent of 2024 GDP,” it said.

Some 143 health facilities sustained damage, comprising 18 hospitals, 120 health centres and five department offices.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.