Latest News

Portlanders making home repairs on November 4, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.
December 9, 2025

Portland makes steady progress in recovery effort

There has been steady progress in recovery and relief efforts in Portland, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28. Parish Disaster Coordinator, Denise Lewis, told JIS News in an…
People are seen in Petersfield High School, Westmoreland which was converted as a hurricane shelter.
December 9, 2025

Low on food and water, shelter at Petersfield High in need of urgent help

Persons overseeing the hurricane shelter at Petersfield High School in Westmoreland, as well as those who evacuated their homes to safety, are appealing for urgent help, saying they are running low on…
An aerial view of Black River, Jamaica, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Climate change boosted Hurricane Melissa’s destructive winds and rain, analysis finds

Human-caused climate change boosted the destructive winds and rain unleashed by Hurricane Melissa and increased the temperatures and humidity that fuelled the storm, according to an analysis released…
Letters
December 9, 2025

Letter of the Day | Let’s open our doors to fellow Jamaicans in need

THE EDITOR, Madam: The recent hurricane has left a devastating impact across western Jamaica – particularly in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St James, Trelawny, and Hanover. Thousands of homes have…
A house in Elderslie, St Elizabeth badly damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Kristen Gyles | Better safe than sorry

Jamaica is very highly prone to natural disasters and specifically hurricanes, considering its position in the Atlantic hurricane belt. Although the last time we got a direct hit from a hurricane…
Mangled remains of a house in Westmoreland destroyed by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Peter Espeut | Hope springs eternal

Two days ago (last Wednesday) my wife and I accompanied a few friends on a journey to the isolated community of Seaford Town in deep rural Westmoreland on a mission of mercy. Hurricane Melissa made…
A JPS electricity pole on Nashville Avenue in Mandeville, Manchester, which snapped and fell during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | A subterranean grid

Andrew Holness has put the issue of subterranean power lines back on Jamaica’s agenda, but the matter, in the current circumstances, insists on a deeper, and more urgent, discussion than the prime…
Children gather around to get porridge in Oxford, St Elizabeth.
December 9, 2025

Doing the right thing

THE EDITOR, Madam: Hurricane Melissa has passed but her impact remains etched into our lives (and will be for eons to come) – in the broken homes, the grieving hearts, and the quiet resilience of…
Letters
December 9, 2025

Letter of the Day | Let ‘...justice, truth, be ours forever…’

THE EDITOR, Madam: As the relief supplies come into the island from the many sources of concern and assistance, both those directly connected to Jamaica and others simply wanting to help, it is…