News
November 14 2025
The past in ruins
Updated
December 9 2025
6
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St Elizabeth Parish Court is among the buildings on High Street, Black River, that were damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
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Beeston Spring’s Moravian Church in Westmoreland reduced to rubble.
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Hurricane Melissa tore away large sections of the roof at St Michael’s Anglican Church in Clark’s Town, Trelawny, causing severe structural damage.
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Hurricane Melissa left its mark on the historic Falmouth Courthouse, a Georgian-style landmark erected in 1815 and rebuilt after being razed by fire in 1926.
The savage winds of Hurricane Melissa did not just strip roofs and flatten homes; they obliterated or damaged about 40 heritage structures that anchor Jamaican identity, memory and national spirit. That figure is expected to rise once privately owned properties are assessed, according to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), the state body responsible for preserving national monuments. The trust has not yet released the full list of affected public buildings or the estimated repair costs.
