WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — Guyana has taken the lead in regional disaster recovery efforts in Jamaica, committing to rebuild the first 200 roofs in communities devastated by Hurricane Melissa, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced during a high-level visit on Monday.
Ali, who joined a CARICOM mission assessing damage in Westmoreland and St James, said Guyana’s engineering corps would work around the clock to begin immediate repairs for families left exposed after the storm destroyed more than 150,000 homes and affected nearly one million Jamaicans.
“We want to move very quickly to have 200 roofs completely redone, starting right here in this community,” Ali said while walking through Whitehouse, one of the hardest-hit areas. “Prime Minister Holness has set a tight schedule to get everyone under some form of shelter before Christmas, and we will support that fully.”
Guyana has already deployed engineers from the Guyana Defence Force and will ship additional manpower, equipment, building materials, tarpaulins, food, water, chainsaws, generators and storage tanks to boost Jamaica’s recovery capacity. The roof-restoration effort marks the first major on-the-ground intervention by a regional government since the storm.
Ali said the scale of destruction is “indescribable” and can only be fully understood by being present.
“You have to be here to see this devastation. There are no words,” he said. “But the resilience and strength of the Jamaican people tell you everything about the Jamaican spirit.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness welcomed Guyana’s leadership and said its engineering corps would coordinate with the Jamaica Defence Force, members of parliament and local councillors to identify the first batch of households for rapid intervention.
“We estimate conservatively that about 900,000 Jamaicans have been impacted and roughly 150,000 homes destroyed,” Holness said. “Every aid given and every commitment made must quickly advance the recovery and make Jamaica stronger.”
Holness said debris removal teams will be redeployed from St James to the worst-hit areas in Westmoreland in the coming days, while modular homes are being prepared for medium-term shelter.
