Jamaica has been left reeling after Hurricane Melissa — a Category 5 storm described as the strongest ever to make landfall on the island — tore across the Caribbean nation with sustained winds nearing 300 kilometres per hour.
The hurricane struck the western parish of Hanover near the town of New Hope on Tuesday afternoon local time, flattening homes, toppling trees and plunging entire regions into darkness. The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of “total structural failure” along Melissa’s path, describing conditions unseen in Jamaica’s recorded history.
“The destruction could be unlike anything people in Jamaica have seen before,” said AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva. “The island has never taken a direct hit from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane in recorded history.”
By late afternoon, the storm had weakened only marginally, maintaining its Category 5 status as it churned slowly across the island’s mountainous interior — a trajectory that exacerbated flooding and landslide risks for inland communities.
Government officials said nearly 6,000 Jamaicans had taken refuge in emergency shelters, though evacuation orders had been issued for almost five times that number. “We’re getting videos and pictures of severely damaged public infrastructure – hospitals, places of safety … so it is having the effect that was projected,” Environment Minister Matthew Samuda told CNN.
Power outages affected more than one-third of the island, with utility JPS confirming that in some parishes three-quarters of customers were without electricity.
Local Colin Bogle, sheltering with his grandmother in Portmore near Kingston, described “relentless noise” and scenes reminiscent of the devastating Hurricane Gilbert of 1988. “People are scared. Memories of Hurricane Gilbert run deep, and there is frustration that Jamaica continues to face the worst consequences of a climate crisis we did not cause,” he said.
The World Meteorological Organization called Melissa “the storm of the century,” warning of storm surges of up to four metres. Health officials also issued unusual warnings for residents to avoid floodwaters where displaced crocodiles might surface.
And if biblical floods and winds weren’t enough, health authorities in south-eastern Jamaica warned residents to watch out for crocodiles that could be displaced from swamps and rivers and come into residential areas in search of dry land.
For the global insurance and reinsurance industry, Hurricane Melissa represents the latest — and perhaps most severe — test of catastrophe exposure in the Caribbean. With early estimates pointing to widespread destruction of commercial and residential properties, analysts said insured losses could reach record levels for the region.
Primary insurers including Advantage General, ICWI, Guardian General Jamaica, and GK General Insurance are expected to handle the first surge of claims, while Jamaica’s sovereign catastrophe bond under the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) is almost certain to trigger, providing rapid funds for emergency response.
International reinsurers Swiss Re, Munich Re, RenaissanceRe, Everest Group, and Hannover Re are expected to absorb much of the upper-layer loss burden. A London-based reinsurance executive described the event as “a stress test for post-hard-market resilience,” warning that Melissa’s slow pace could generate inland flood losses that challenge standard catastrophe models.
Meteorologists said ocean temperatures around Jamaica were roughly three degrees above the long-term seasonal average — fuelling Melissa’s rapid intensification and sheer staying power. The hurricane is one of several in recent years to undergo explosive strengthening over abnormally warm waters, a pattern insurers have been forced to account for in catastrophe pricing and modelling.
While the financial toll will take weeks to quantify, the implications for reinsurers are immediate: another reminder that climate volatility continues to reshape risk assumptions. Analysts say the event could push up Caribbean reinsurance rates and prompt a fresh round of capital reassessment ahead of 2026 renewals.
“Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave,” Disaster Response Minister Desmond McKenzie warned residents before the storm made landfall. “Don’t bet against Melissa. It is a bet we can’t win.”
Melissa is forecast to weaken as it tracks toward eastern Cuba and the Bahamas, but authorities across the region have ordered mass evacuations. In Cuba, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said more than 500,000 people had already been moved from vulnerable zones, declaring that “Melissa will arrive with force, and there’s great concern about what it could destroy in its wake.”
The International Federation of the Red Cross estimates that as many as 1.5 million Jamaicans could be directly affected, with tarpaulins, hygiene kits and drinking water already pre-positioned on the island.
As global attention turns to the reconstruction phase, insurers and reinsurers face a familiar but increasingly urgent dilemma: how to balance immediate catastrophe response with the long-term challenge of adapting to a warmer, more volatile planet.
Philanthropist Bill Gates — in a memo released just hours before landfall — urged against “doomsday” rhetoric around climate change, arguing that humanity can still thrive despite its consequences. Yet for those in the business of underwriting risk, Melissa stands as a powerful reminder that the cost of warming seas is no longer theoretical.
“People will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the foreseeable future,” Gates wrote. “Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise.”
With communications still down across much of Jamaica, the full economic toll of Hurricane Melissa will take time to emerge. But the event has already entered the record books — and may soon join the ranks of the most expensive hurricanes in Caribbean history.
