Caribbean-American congresswoman leads legislative letter urging Trump to provide more recovery aid to Jamaica

WASHINGTON, CMC – Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke says along with New York Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks she has led 56 of their colleagues in a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump administration to continue immediate humanitarian and recovery assistance to Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.

Meeks represents the 5th Congressional District in Queens, New York.

“We write to express our deep concern and solidarity with the people of Jamaica following the catastrophic passage of Hurricane Melissa,” the letter says. “We welcome the deployment of a Disaster Assistance Response Team and respectfully urge the Department of State to continue immediate humanitarian and recovery assistance to support Jamaica’s response to this unprecedented disaster."

The Congressional leaders noted that Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on October 28, as a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds near 185 mph (295 km/h) – “one of the strongest hurricanes ever to ever hit Jamaica in its history.”

The storm brought up to 40 inches (100 cm) of rain in some areas and a storm surge reaching 9 to 13 feet (2.7 – 4 m) along portions of the southern coast.

The US legislators said entire communities in parishes such as St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Manchester, and Clarendon were submerged, with widespread flooding, landslides, and wind destruction reported.

The legislators also said initial estimates suggest billions of dollars in infrastructure and economic losses, particularly in tourism and agriculture, “two pillars of Jamaica’s economy.”

“These statistics underscore the scale of devastation and the urgent need for international assistance,” they write, urging the Trump administration to ensure that US humanitarian assistance response to Jamaica includes emergency food, clean water, temporary shelter, medical supplies, and power-generation equipment to sustain relief operations.

The lawmakers also urged the administration to coordinate closely with the Government of Jamaica and regional partners – including the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and other international organisations – “to ensure efficient delivery of aid and equitable distribution to the hardest-hit communities.”

In addition, they urged the Trump administration to support the rapid restoration of essential services, such as electricity, clean water, healthcare, and transportation infrastructure, to enable emergency response and recovery; and launch a US–Jamaica recovery and resilience initiative focused on rebuilding climate resilient infrastructure, restoring livelihoods, and strengthening disaster-preparedness capacity for future storms.

The US legislators recommended that the administration “utilise flexible humanitarian and reconstruction funding mechanisms within the Department (of State) to expedite aid delivery and sustain long-term recovery programmes without delay; and work with regional and international financial institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and IMF to leverage the necessary capital to invest in short- and long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts.

“Hurricane Melissa represents one of the gravest natural disasters in Jamaica’s modern history,” the letter says. “Beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, this storm threatens to destabilise key sectors of Jamaica’s economy and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities across the Caribbean.

“The United States, as Jamaica’s close neighbour and ally, is uniquely positioned to lead in providing both emergency relief and strategic support for rebuilding a stronger, more resilient Jamaica,” it adds. “Assisting Jamaica at this critical juncture aligns with America’s humanitarian values and our shared interest in a stable, prosperous, and climate-resilient Caribbean region.”

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