In large measure, Jamaica has emerged with very little planning and much of what new construction there is has simply been built on the old decrepit structures, making modern development a headache for planners and subject to all sorts of disasters.

However, as history teaches, disasters create opportunities to start over, working together as one. That, of course, is going to require enlightened thinking, Job-like patience, and steel-like willingness to sacrifice.

But, as in the words of the Stanley and the Turbines song New Jamaica, our little island can embrace the vision and begin the investment in our shared future, knowing that it is going to be a long, hard slog, but doing it nonetheless, if not for us, for our children and their children.

Across the ages, countries have not only recovered, but renewed themselves from countless disasters. We must learn from them so we can avoid unnecessary mistakes and replicate the successes. Decisions taken today will echo in eternity.

The stark truth is that there will be more disasters. Hurricane Melissa took advantage of our warm Caribbean waters — a result of climate change — to conjure up the worst type of storm that Earth has to offer, the Category Five. Our tourism-dependent Caribbean islands are increasingly at risk.

The old town of Black River, St Elizabeth, and much of adjoining eastern Westmoreland, with their preponderance of wooden structures, took a dreadful hit from Hurricane Beryl last year. This time, however, it was too much and they crumbled under the power of Melissa, as did weather-beaten places in Manchester, Hanover, St James, and Trelawny.

Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning Ms Ivis García made two telling points in her recent article ‘4 urgent lessons for Jamaica from Puerto Rico’s troubled hurricane recovery…’

After extensive research on disaster recovery in Puerto Rico from Hurricane María in 2017, she found that it was critical to start now to try to prevent migration outwards, as emergency response transitions into prolonged recovery.

“Researchers estimated that of the nearly 400,000 people who left Puerto Rico in 2017 and 2018 after María, maybe 50,000 had returned by 2019. Jamaica faces similar risks… The time to prevent that pressure to leave is now,” she advised.

She said Hurricane Maria revealed serious infrastructure vulnerabilities as the ageing power grid collapsed under Category Four winds. But instead of being rebuilt with more modern, resilient infrastructure, reconstruction in Puerto largely restored “the old, vulnerable centralised power system, rather than transforming it with distributed renewable energy, hardened transmission lines, and micro-grids that could withstand future storms”.

“After hurricanes, water systems, roads, schools, and hospitals, along with power systems, should be rebuilt to better withstand storms and with redundancy — such as backup power sources and distributed water systems,” she said.

Additionally, we in this space cannot but caution yet again of the need to avoid partisan politics taking over the rebuilding process. This is no time for the tribalists who cannot think but of their own self-interests.

We cherish the two-party system of democracy, but in a time of grave danger, as now, we must think as one Jamaica.