There’s no doubt that Hurricane Melissa has left scars that run deep across Jamaica’s landscape and our collective spirit. From flattened homes to badly damaged infrastructure, to disrupted schools and livelihoods, the devastation is a sobering reminder of our island’s vulnerability to nature’s fury.

Yet, amid the debris and despair, there stands a call for unity, resilience, and foresight.

Former Prime Minister P J Patterson, a statesman whose leadership helped steer Jamaica through some of its most challenging chapters, last week appealed for Jamaicans to rebuild with unity and resolve.

“National unity,” he told this newspaper, “is always beneficial for any country, but there are times when national unity is an absolute imperative, and that time is now.”

Mr Patterson, who served as Jamaica’s chief executive from 1992 to 2006, also correctly pointed out that, “The hurricane didn’t separate people according to their denomination; it didn’t discriminate between people because of their political support of one side or another, [so] what is going to be required is a total unity of effort and total unity of purpose.”

Central to that national recovery effort, he said, should be a commitment to building smarter, given Jamaica’s vulnerability to the forces of nature.

What gives us hope in this matter is that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is committed to that ideal. Indeed, he was very clear during his visit last week to Black River, saying we can envision a future of the hurricane-ravaged town “rising stronger and better because the truth is that many of the buildings were not located properly in the first place. They were in vulnerable areas [and] we will now take the opportunity to properly reorganise the town and to build back even stronger”.

For too long our approach to rebuilding after disasters has been reactive — patching up, restoring, and moving on. But Hurricane Melissa is a wake-up call that the old way will no longer suffice.

Climate change is intensifying storms, raising sea levels, and eroding our coasts. Jamaica, as a small island developing state, sits on the front line of this global crisis. We cannot prevent hurricanes, but we can reduce their ability to destroy.

Building smarter means adopting resilient construction methods that can withstand stronger winds and heavier rainfall. It means enforcing building codes that prioritise safety and sustainability, not cutting corners to save costs today that become tragedies tomorrow. It means relocating vulnerable communities away from flood-prone zones, and integrating renewable energy and modern drainage systems into our infrastructure.

The Government must lead this transformation with vision and urgency. This is not the time for bureaucracy or short-sighted politics. Instead, it calls for a coordinated national effort — one that brings together engineers, planners, environmentalists, and community leaders under a shared mission.

Incentives should be provided for homeowners to adopt resilient materials, and national housing projects must embody the principles of smart design and environmental stewardship.

Equally vital is the role of education and public awareness. Jamaicans must understand not only how to build smarter, but why it matters.

Let Hurricane Melissa be remembered not only for the destruction it wrought, but for the transformation it inspired. Let it be the moment when Jamaica resolved, once and for all, to build for the next century — not the last.