Billions of dollars being provided to help Jamaica recover from Hurricane Melissa

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on Dec 1, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A month after Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica and left billions of dollars in damage in its wake, international financial institutions are making up to $6.7 billion available to help the island-nation in its recovery and reconstruction.

The funds, available over three years, are part of a financial support package put together by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.

“This coordinated effort reflects a unified commitment to help Jamaica pursue a fiscally responsible, long-term recovery through a combination of emergency preparedness financing, sovereign financing, grant support and private sector investments,” the World Bank said in a press release.

Melissa made landfall on Oct. 28 as a Category 5 storm and caused an estimated $8.8 billion in damage, according to a preliminary estimate by the World Bank in coordination with the Inter-American Development Bank. The costliest storm to ever hit the country, the structural damage is equivalent to 41% of Jamaica’s 2024 gross domestic product, they said.

Among the funds the government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness will have made available to it is up to $3.6 billion to finance government programs, including budget support. The IDB and World Bank are also seeking to mobilize about $2.4 billion in private investments.

Jamaica has already managed to tap $662 million in disaster risk insurance funds, which are also part of the financial package, to help in its early response. This includes $91 million from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility and $300 million from the IDB’s Contingent Credit Facility.

In addition to damaging crops and homes, the storm left hundreds of thousands without electricity and about 25% of customers from the country’s utility company, the Jamaica Public Service, still do not have power. Last week, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz at a press conference said the government was working with the Jamaica Public Service to address the ongoing power outages. The National Housing Trust also announced plans to deploy 2,500 semi-permanent housing units and offer relief loans and grants to those affected by the hurricane.