EVEN for those in western Jamaica whose homes remained structurally intact during and after its passage, Hurricane Melissa altered reality in nightmarishly far-reaching fashion.

Let’s consider the case of 80-year-old Ms Betty Gordon in John’s Hall, St James. She told our reporter — as published in our latest Sunday edition — that all her life she never realised that her home was vulnerable to flooding from the John’s Hall River. Now she knows different.

Said Ms Gordon: “Let me tell you something, mi born here so 80 years ago, December gone, and a Melissa mek me know seh river can come through here… [and] go in the house.”

And since the passage of the Category 5 hurricane in late October of last year numerous heavy showers have repeatedly left Ms Gordon traumatised.

According to her, “Every time the rain fall and the river come down it’s just flooding right through the house, right out to… the road.”

Obviously faith based, she tells us that, “When mi see the rain set, mi fret, mi fraid, and mi have to go down on my knees and beg God…”

Now, a month short of the start of a new hurricane season, and with seasonal heavy rains expected in May and the months to follow, Ms Gordon is happy that the authorities have seen it fit to clean the river as a flood mitigation measure.

We hear from the local political representative, Councillor Uvel Graham (Jamaica Labour Party, Spring Mount Division) that the project is aimed at removing high levels of silt “so the river can flow” freely, thereby reducing the risk of flooding.

And, while he knows resources are scarce, Councillor Graham says he will be lobbying for greater protection for the community, including retaining walls to guard against flooding.

We are hopeful that similar projects are in train, alongside proactive planning for flood-prone neighbourhoods across Jamaica.

Even as Jamaicans eye resilient rebuilding underpinned by the controversial National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill now before the Senate, the short-term urgency stares us in the face.

As happened in John’s Hall, St James, drains, gullies, rivers, water courses everywhere across Jamaica must be cleaned to minimise, if not prevent flooding, in upcoming months.

Emergency shelters — a few of which still house Melissa victims — must be readied and equipped. As Hurricane Beryl, which sideswiped southern Jamaica in early July 2024, proved, there is very little time left to prepare.

Record keepers tell us that Beryl was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm to enter the Caribbean.

Nor can we any longer relax come early October. For those who missed it, Melissa, which came ashore in eastern Westmoreland very late in the 2025 hurricane season on October 28, was among the more powerful of its kind on record.

The awful truth is that, ahead of June, much of Melissa’s damage remains untouched or at only a very early stage of repair.

The faith-based among us are praying for God’s mercy, and the rest of us are hoping for the best. But we all are also aware there is no scientific reason we won’t be hit by another catastrophic storm in short order.

For that reason all Jamaicans must prepare as best they can for the worst. Merely depending on cash-strapped central and local authorities to do this or that won’t cut it.

Jamaicans must ‘tun han mek fashion’ to help themselves and their neighbours. That’s how we have always survived in times of crisis.