Hurricane Melissa’s passage laid bare the weaknesses in Jamaica’s economic silos, food security systems, geopolitical infrastructure, and the speed with which outbreaks emerge under our current disease-prevention policies.

In the western part of the island, urgent demands for basic amenities and health care echo with desperate cries for respite and hope. Vandalism, theft, and food insecurity have risen — predictably — amid limited security. Meanwhile, Jamaica’s fragile ecosystem, rich with indigenous flora and fauna, may have suffered long-lasting damage that could take decades to reverse.

Globally, hurricanes cause roughly US$26 billion in annual losses. Predecessors like the infamous Ivan and Sandy of the 2000s contributed to that destruction. Between 2001 and 2024, Jamaica accrued an estimated US$850 million in damage; Melissa alone brought US$9.5 billion, according to World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimates from November 2025.

In essence, Melissa generated 10 times more destruction — and wiped out nearly half of 2024’s gross domestic product (GDP) — than 24 years of storms before it. The Bank of Jamaica now warns that Melissa’s shock could nudge the country into recession, undermining the hard-won economic progress achieved since COVID-19.

We may, regrettably, see an even more powerful storm as early as next year. The urgency to rebuild resilience and protect national sustainability is now undeniable. One promising path forward lies in fully embracing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite Jamaica’s high potential in Scientific Research and Development (SRD), our national investment remains at just 0.07 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2025. If we intend to withstand the accelerating force of climate-driven disasters, we must commit to becoming a STEM-literate, innovation-driven nation.

Recently, I attended the Scientific Research Council (SRC) and Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET) hybrid Conversations in Science seminar. The event brought together leading academics, policymakers, and parliamentarians, including Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Andrew Wheatley. His keynote, entitled ‘The House of Innovation’, outlined a framework designed to empower local scientists to advance Jamaica’s innovation ecosystem, strengthen national protection, and spark home-grown entrepreneurship.

The discussions — from food security to climate resilience, ageing infrastructure, outdated building codes, and artificial intelligence (AI) integration — were rich with ideas and optimism from the panellists. Yet one question lingered: When will these plans become action?

The 31st president of the United States Herbert Hoover’s adage, “Words without action are the assassins of idealism” resonates profoundly here. Jamaica does not suffer from a lack of ideas but from a chronic execution deficit. Melissa has made it clear: We can no longer afford slow movement. Our ideas must finally meet implementation.

Building Truly Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

Jamaica — a mountainous Caribbean small island developing state (SIDS) with an average elevation of 305 meters and a land area of 4,244 square miles — sits squarely within a warming tropical marine climate. Sea temperatures have risen roughly two degrees year over year, amplifying storm intensity and undermining coastal stability.

To build true climate resilience, Jamaica must adopt a more assertive and science-driven approach to infrastructure. This requires not just rebuilding stronger, but rebuilding smarter. Ninety per cent of Jamaica’s buildings cannot withstand winds over 180 mph. Retrofitting existing structures with hurricane straps, impact-resistant windows, elevated foundations, and improved drainage must become a national priority. But policy alone is not enough: Enforcement must be uncompromising.

Seawalls, breakwaters, and mangrove restoration create natural buffers that reduce storm surge. High-risk zones — such as floodplains and landslide-prone hillsides — must be rezoned, with relocation incentives where necessary. Urban drainage systems need modernisation to handle extreme rainfall, not outdated 20th-century averages. Our energy infrastructure remains vulnerable to single-point failures. Expanding micro grids, rooftop solar panels, community-level battery storage, and resilient transmission networks will ensure hospitals, shelters, and water systems remain operational during catastrophic events.

Evidence-based decision-making — not political expediency — should drive how Jamaica builds in the next decade.

Tackling food security after natural disasters like Melissa

Food security means producing safe, wholesome food for consumers while understanding the hazards that arise when crops are grown, processed, or packaged under substandard conditions.

Entire regions of the island — responsible for more than 80 per cent of our domestic produce — were devastated in a single weekend. This underscores the urgent need for more advanced agricultural technology so that harvests are less vulnerable to spoilage, adulteration, and physical damage.

At the community level, citizens must also be equipped with basic food-safety knowledge, including awareness of the temperature danger zone and the FATTOM principles — food, acidity, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture — which outline the factors that encourage bacterial growth. A more informed public and a more technologically fortified agricultural sector together form the backbone of true food security in a climate-unstable future.

Probing into psychosocial remedies 

Beyond the physical dangers, hurricanes inflict deep psychological harm. The sudden loss of homes, livelihoods, and loved ones, combined with uncertainty about the future creates a perfect storm for anxiety, depression, insomnia, grief, and chronic stress. Children, the elderly, and individuals already living with trauma are especially vulnerable. This is where the presence of trained mental-health professionals becomes pivotal.

Psychologists and counsellors help communities process trauma, build coping strategies, and restore a sense of stability. Their role is just as critical as that of medical teams addressing physical disease.

Going forward post-Melissa

Jamaica can no longer afford to linger in colloquiums, forums, and endless conversations that lead nowhere if implementation remains weak. The time for ideas alone has passed. We have the intellect, the talent, the creativity, and increasingly the investment needed to build the frameworks and innovations that will secure our future.

What we lack is not capacity but coordinated action. The storms are growing stronger, the economic shocks more punishing, and the environmental and public-health threats more complex. If we are to withstand the next Melissa, we must transform dialogue into execution and vision into measurable progress.

Dujean Edwards

Dujean Edwards is a university educator and researcher. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or dujeanedwards@gmail.com.