Lead Stories

Pearnel Charles Jr, minister of labour and social security, addresses a special press briefing on the recovery from Hurricane Melissa at Jamaica House in St Andrew yesterday.
December 9, 2025 by Edmond Campbell

Relief angst

Almost a week after Hurricane Melissa delivered a catastrophic blow to sections of southern and western Jamaica, the Government reported yesterday that there are still 25 marooned communities. As the…
Persons gather outside the Naing Wholesale on Main Street in Lucea, Hanover, on Sunday to connect to a Starlink access point to get in touch with family and loved ones as the mobile networks remained non-functional across the parish.
December 9, 2025 by Jovan Johnson

Lucea residents battle isolation as networks remain down

On Sunday, in Lucea, Hanover, residents gathered in small groups outside shops and supermarkets, heads bowed to phones with fading bars, hoping for a message that would tell them family and friends…
Keith Wellington, ISSA president and principal of the St Elizabeth Technical High School.
December 9, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Not again!

WESTERN BUREAU: Principal of St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), Keith Wellington, says the emotional toll of yet another disruption on students cannot be overlooked, especially for those…
Workmen trying to restore vehicular or pedestrian access stop to assess the situation.
December 9, 2025 by Karen Madden

Raging Yallahs River carves new path, leaving communities cut off

Vehicular and pedestrian access between St Thomas and St Andrew has been severed after the four-lane Yallahs River Bridge, located at the border of the two parishes, was washed away during the passage…
Despie Pinnock a resident of Farm, Westmoreland, recounts her experience during the passage of Hurricane Melissa at the shelter at Belmont Academy in Westmoreland.
December 9, 2025 by Kimone Francis

Survivors speak out as Melissa wipes out Westmoreland communities

Where vibrant communities once stood in Westmoreland, Hurricane Melissa has left behind a skeletal, unrecognisable landscape. The Category 5 storm stripped the parish of its landmarks and claimed…
Hurricane Melissa caused damage exceeding 40 per cent of GDP (US$8.8 billion), far surpassing Jamaica’s US$150 million World Bank catastrophe bond.
December 9, 2025 by Sashana Small

Ministry tackles physical, psychological recovery in schools

The Ministry of Education has announced that it will convene a meeting today with key education stakeholders – including the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, the National Secondary Students’ Council,…
News
December 9, 2025 by Erica Virtue

Prof Charles hailed as incredibly prolific, deeply analytical

Former colleagues of the late Professor Christopher Andre Duane Charles, who died last week, are remembering him as a brilliant academic and fearless researcher whose incisive commentary and deep…
Keneisha McDonald sifts through what’s left of her possessions in her battered home in Windsor, St Ann.
December 9, 2025 by Tanesha Mundle

‘I thought this was the end’

Teniesha Kelly believes it was divine intervention that spared her family’s lives as Hurricane Melissa – a deadly Category 5 storm – tore through her Windsor, St Ann community, flattening homes and…
Nicola Gowdie sits in tears among the remains of her house on Crane Road, St Elizabeth, on October 30.
December 9, 2025 by Livern Barrett

Appeal for patience

A member of the national committee tasked with coordinating the post-Hurricane Melissa response is appealing for more patience, from desperate residents in some of the hardest-hit areas, as their…