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 were safe. They, too, wanted to update concerned...
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, the Jamaica Union of Churches, and the National...
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 dozens of lives during its passage on October 27 and...
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 of Hurricane Melissa last week. The destruction...
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 already scarred by the COVID-19 pandemic and its...
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 grumbling about the distribution of relief supplies...
Unless it is necessary, Jamaicans are urged not to venture into western parishes hit hard by Hurricane Melissa as the influx is causing heavy traffic, which has been slowing down official emergency response. St Elizabeth, Trelawny, Westmoreland, St...
WESTERN BUREAU: When Fernando Davis stepped out last Saturday morning, four days after Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica, he thought recovery had begun…with money in his account, a charged phone, and errands to run. However, the first stop at a...
Jamaica’s 11- member team to the just-completed First Robotics Competition held in Panama City won two bronze medals at the 9th annual event, even after missing the first two full days of the competition. The Jamaicans won bronze in the Alliances...
With limited commercial flight operations resuming on Saturday, MBJ Airports Limited (MBJ), operators of Sangster International Airport (SIA), has opted to waive all landing and parking fees for noncommercial relief flights bringing cargo and...
WESTERN BUREAU: When Hurricane Melissa howled through Montego Bay, St James, most of the tourism capital’s guests prayed for safety. Gregory McMichael got something more – comfort, care, and the calm assurance that he wasn’t alone. Sheltered...
WESTERN BUREAU: The Port Authority of Jamaica and the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ), representing the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, have been lauded for their rapid recovery efforts and resilience following the recent...
A Westmoreland family’s desperate attempt to escape the stinging conditions of Hurricane Melissa ended in tragedy when the house they were fleeing from crumbled, killing 18-year-old Monique Coke. The woman, who was eight months pregnant, was...
WESTERN BUREAU: Hurricane Melissa has shattered hundreds of Jamaica’s churches, from wooden chapels tucked in sugar-belt villages to grand cathedrals that survived slavery and emancipation. The storm has shaken the very heart of a nation famed for...
In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, the air in Westmoreland hung heavy with dust and debris as mortician Dywite Spence began a grim journey – retrieving the bodies of those the storm had claimed. Spence has been in the funeral...
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 residents say they are simply doing what they must to...
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 could occur if urgent action is not taken to...
As the country engages in post-hurricane recovery efforts, property management and electrical professionals are urging homeowners to proceed with caution, especially if their homes were submerged in floodwater. Kerry Scott, head of real estate and...
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 major blow” to both dinner tables and exports....
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 floors in Catherine Hall, St James. Rose Holness, a...
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 beyond recognition. Superintendent of Police...
The Jamaica Relief Aid in Aruba (JRAA) has joined the growing list of international agencies committing to assist Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The JRAA, established by the Consulate of Jamaica in Aruba under the leadership of Honorary...
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 is “impossible” and without any scientific...
Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny has been left battered by Hurricane Melissa and now faces urgent and extensive repairs. Days after the storm ravaged the island, the facility remains reeling, grappling with severe damage, water and air-conditioning...
WESTERN BUREAU: Veteran fisherman Howard Moxam stood solemnly on the battered shoreline of Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, his weathered gaze fixed on the restless sea that had stripped him of nearly everything. “I have been fishing from the age of...
