Attachments
Context
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October 2025 as a Category 5 storm, causing catastrophic damage across the country and marking the most powerful hurricane in the island’s recorded history. The hurricane caused significant damage particularly in the western and north-western parishes. The storm triggered widespread flooding, landslides, and road blockages, crippling critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools, roads, and telecommunications networks.
Following Hurricane Melissa, Real-Time Monitoring coverage was scaled up significantly—from just over 500 observations before the event (January – October 2025) to over 2,500 calls post-event. This expansion greatly improves visibility on emerging trends, though results should still be considered indicative rather than fully representative at parish level until sample sizes grow further.
It is also important to note that areas without mobile network coverage are not captured, and food insecurity rates may rise as connectivity improves and more households are reached. Despite these limitations, the current data already highlight the severe impact of the hurricane on food security and livelihoods, providing an early signal of needs across Jamaica.
HIGHLIGHTS
After Hurricane Melissa, short-term indicators (FCS and rCSI) improved slightly with emergency aid and market recovery, but FIES worsened, reflecting persistent worry and severe experiences such as skipping meals. At the same time, households shifted toward more harmful coping strategies—emergency measures nearly doubled and remain concentrated in the west and north-west—signaling livelihood stress and the need for sustained, multi-dimensional support beyond immediate food assistance.
Insufficient food consumption surged from 7% pre-Melissa to 30% in November before easing to 23% in December, still far above pre-crisis levels. The worst impacts were seen in rural western and central parishes such as Clarendon, Saint Elizabeth, Hanover, Manchester and St Mary, where rates exceeded 30%. Diet quality also deteriorated sharply, with steep declines in fruits and vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods, while reliance on energy-dense food (sugar and fat) increased.
High coping (rCSI≥19) more than doubled nationally after Hurricane Melissa, peaking at 36% in November before slowly declining to 30% in December, with the worst stress and largest increases concentrated in rural western and northern parishes such as Westmoreland, Trelawny, Saint Elizabeth, and Hanover. Moderate or severe food insecurity rose sharply from 33% pre-Melissa to 54% in December, two months after the hurricane, with the highest levels in rural western and northern parishes such as, Westmoreland, Saint Ann, Trelawny, Saint Elizabeth, and Hanover—indicating sustained deterioration and acute vulnerability.
After Melissa, coping shifted toward severity: no coping fell from 32% to 22%, emergency nearly doubled to 19% (+9 pp) and crisis edged up to 27%, while stress strategies stayed roughly stable—indicating greater reliance on asset-depleting measures. Severity peaked in weeks 3–6 (crisis approx. 30%, emergency 22–23%) and partially eased by week 8. In December crisis declined to 25% but emergency rose to 20%, signaling persistent livelihood pressure and risk of irreversible asset loss. Post-Melissa, the burden of severe coping is concentrated in the west/north-west.
Market access deteriorated sharply after Melissa—53% of households faced challenges, peaking mid-month and remaining high into weeks 7–8—while fresh foods recovered slowly, staples and hygiene rebounded quickly, and medicines showed volatile availability. The worst access constraints are concentrated in the west and north-west (e.g., Hanover, Trelawny, needs across Jamaica. Westmoreland, Saint Elizabeth).