Regional stakeholders undertake review of response to Hurricane Melissa

Regional stakeholders have gathered in Jamaica to undertake a comprehensive review of the response to Hurricane Melissa to improve the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) and reduce collective risk exposure.

The three-day RRM After-Action Review (AAR) workshop was hosted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) at the S Hotel in Kingston from March 10 to 12.

It sought to identify areas of the response that worked well, challenges faced and whether there were gaps that need to be addressed going forward.

Speaking during the opening ceremony on March 10, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr., noted that Hurricane Melissa served as a stark reminder that the region remains one of the most vulnerable, disaster-prone regions in the world.

He highlighted that the hurricane wiped out sections of Jamaica’s western parishes, causing significant damage to homes, infrastructure and essential services.

“Yet, in the midst of all of those challenges… we witnessed something equally powerful, the coming together, the strength, the resilience of partnership. We saw where governments, regional institutions, development partners... and humanitarian actors work side-by-side in real time to protect lives and to support the recovery of the affected communities,” Charles Jr. stated.

He emphasised that Jamaicans saw the regional response mechanism in action, functioning as intended, mobilising expertise, coordinating resources and enhancing national efforts through regional solidarity.

The Minister said Jamaica owes a debt of gratitude to all the friends and stakeholders, fellow Caribbean states and CDEMA, who pulled together to support the island.

“For decades, CDEMA has been at the forefront of advancing comprehensive disaster management across the region, providing technical coordination, policy leadership, and a collaborative framework that strengthens the capacity of our small island states to respond to increasingly complex hazards,” he stated.

Charles Jr noted that for Jamaica, disaster risk reduction is an integral part of the national development strategy.

He explained that through the Disaster Risk Management Act and the broader policy framework that underpins that legislation, Jamaica has sought to ensure that preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery are fully integrated into the society at all levels.

The Minister emphasised that this whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is driven by the simple yet powerful truth that resilience cannot be built by any single institution alone. “We have to continue with the investments in regional partnership that have allowed us and will allow us to pool our expertise, our resources and our operational capacity when crises arise,” he stated.

Charles Jr. noted that the work that will be carried out during the review is of great importance and encouraged stakeholders to ensure that the after-action review drives the region’s coordination mechanisms to operate in an even better way.

“It's important for us to identify how the regional response mechanism will continue to evolve,” he added.

In his remarks, Director General at ODPEM, Commander Alvin Gayle, emphasised that the resilience of the Caribbean is rooted in the capacity to collaborate and learn from experiences and to consistently embark on a matter of programmatic preparedness and response.

“This particular after-action review is significant – we will be reflecting, learning and enhancing… as we cooperate… and then seeking to reinforce the regional response mechanism. It is vitally important, as Jamaica is the sub-regional focal point,” Gayle said.

He noted that the lessons to be identified will be instrumental in enhancing regional systems and ensuring that the Caribbean remains prepared to face evolving challenges, both man-made and climatic.

In her remarks, Executive Director of CDEMA, Elizabeth Riley, highlighted that Hurricane Melissa posed a complex multi-state threat to three of CDEMA's participating states within the northwestern sub-region – Jamaica, Haiti and the Bahamas.

She said Melissa deepened the understanding of the next-level requirements for risk assessment in the era of climate change.

“Complex interactions were seen between storm surge and record precipitation amounts and demonstrated the limitations of existing flood and storm surge maps which tend to be prepared looking only at the single hazard and not at the complexities that arise when these hazards happen in tandem,” the CDEMA Head explained.

She noted, further, that the Category-Five hurricane underscored the need for an integrated approach to risk assessment, which is science and scenario-based.

Riley stated that while there were successes in the Melissa response, the severe weather event also highlighted areas requiring further strengthening.

These include the need to bolster logistics capacity, particularly in last-mile delivery, expanding surge personnel, strengthening the alignment between needs lists and relief supplies and improving deployment efficiency.

In his remarks, United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Jamaica, Dennis Zulu, noted that the real value of the review lies not only in identifying what aspects of the response worked and what did not but in ensuring that the lessons identified are translated into practical improvements in how entities prepare for and respond to future disasters.

“The 2026 hurricane season is approaching, and the preparedness cannot wait until the next hurricane is already forming. This means that the recommendations emerging from this review must be actionable, practical and implementable within a short time frame,” Zulu pointed out.

- JIS News

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