Labour Ministry to ‘supercharge’ household hurricane damage assessments with deployment of 600 assessors

The Ministry of Labour says it will accelerate household damage assessment operations following Hurricane Melissa as it seeks to provide additional assistance to affected families.

The ministry says it will undertake a four-week surge in assessments, which will see the deployment of 200 three-member teams (600 assessors) across the six most severely affected parishes.

It says more personnel are needed to increase capacity to complete the remaining 117,000 household assessments within this operational window.

The Category Five storm hit Jamaica on October 28, causing widespread damage in western parishes.

The labour ministry indicated that some 56,267 assessments have been completed to date, noting that an estimated 150,000 household assessments are required.

To accelerate assessments, the ministry says it has activated deployment enhancements, including assessors funded by the World Food Programme; members of the JDF National Service Corps; labour ministry officers repositioned from Kingston and St Andrew to Mandeville; parish officers from St Mary supporting Trelawny; and parish officers from Portland reinforcing St James.

Further, it says it is widening its network by deploying additional support, including career field officers through the World Food Programme and private sector partners; officers under the Social Inclusion Programme; and partnerships with the UNDP, World Central Kitchen/Peace Corps, the Ministry of Justice, the University of the West Indies (UWI), and the HEART/NSTA Trust.

“We are executing a maximum-deployment strategy because the people hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa cannot wait. By supercharging our assessment teams, we are accelerating relief to thousands of Jamaicans, ensuring help reaches them faster and recovery starts sooner,” said Portfolio Minister Pearnel Charles Jr.

The labour ministry says that despite strong progress, the scale of the national impact far exceeds its current field capacity, necessitating a structured inter-government approach. This excludes ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) already engaged in substantial field operations within their respective mandates, such as the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.

“This further acceleration strategy is supported by the relevant MDAs with field capacity to complete the remaining household damage assessments within the accelerated timeline and to finalise the national dataset required for recovery and rehabilitation planning.”

The labour ministry says it requires 20 working days for full execution of the four-week surge.

“This is a tightly coordinated national operation. We are delivering consistent, real-time field data, driving timely and targeted assistance. This integrated approach will improve reach, consistency, and verification across all parishes. Uploading of remaining paper-based assessments, particularly from western parishes, is ongoing and will finalise the national dataset, strengthening planning for recovery and rehabilitation,” said Charles Jr.

According to the labour ministry, this nationwide operation—driven by expanded personnel, strengthened military collaboration, and unified cross-agency coordination—marks the fastest and most comprehensive assessment effort in Jamaica’s disaster response history.

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