News

Rose Holness shows the damage to her home in St James.
December 9, 2025 by Andre Williams

Mud splash

A drowning woman clutched her United States and Canada visas before being rescued by a neighbour as water levels rose to her breast in what turned out to be unprecedented volumes covering ground…
Floyd Green, minister of agriculture, fisheries and mining, toured sections of St Elizabeth yesterday.
December 9, 2025 by Ashanti Lawson

Agri minister warns of severe crop losses as St Elizabeth struggles to recover

Jamaica’s food supply has taken a direct hit from Hurricane Melissa, with farmlands flattened, markets empty, and the country’s top crop, yam, facing what Agriculture Minister Floyd Green calls “a…
Evan Thompson, principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.
December 9, 2025 by Tanesha Mundle

‘That would really surprise me’

Evan Thompson, principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, has scoffed at online conspiracy theories that the island’s recent hurricane was “manufactured”, declaring that such an idea…
Superintendent of Police Coleridge Minto (right), head of the St Elizabeth Police, speaks with The Gleaner at the Black River Police Station on Thursday. Looking on are Sergeant Arleen McBean, chairman of the Police Federation, and Assistant Commissioner o
December 9, 2025 by Tiffany Pryce

Detainees safe and secure at Black River Police Station

Despite extensive flooding and structural damage across St Elizabeth, no detainees were harmed at the Black River Police Station during the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which battered the parish…
News
December 9, 2025

Experts warn of public health emergency after storm

Although Hurricane Melissa has passed, public health professionals are warning that Jamaicans are not yet out of danger as catastrophic disease outbreaks and a worsening of existing medical conditions…
Residents of Black River and surrounding communities descend on the shopping district of the St Elizabeth capital in search of food and other supplies last Thursday.
December 9, 2025 by Tiffany Pryce

Desperation turns to disorder

What was once the commercial heartbeat of St Elizabeth has now been reduced to devastation and desperation. In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, widespread looting has gripped Black River, as…
Savanna-La-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland. - File photo.
December 9, 2025

Pregnant 18-year-old among Hurricane Melissa deaths in Westmoreland

An eight month pregnant woman is among the dead in central Westmoreland following the passage Hurricane Melissa. She has since been identified as 18-year-old Monique Coke. Reports are that Coke, her…
A long line of frustrated persons at a gas station in Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland.
December 9, 2025

Long lines, short tempers at gas station in Savanna-La-Mar

Chaos erupted at the Dunn’s River Total Energies gas station in Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland early Friday as residents and motorists sparred over who should be served first. Scores of people lined…
December 9, 2025

Police criminal records offices in St James and Clarendon to remain closed

The police are advising that the criminal records offices in Summit, St James, and May Pen, Clarendon, will remain closed until further notice following Hurricane Melissa. However, the records…