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2d ago

Jamaica Confirms 32 Deaths After Record Category 5 Landfall as Relief and Funding Scale Up

Rapid payouts from CCRIF and Jamaica’s catastrophe bond are supplying early funds for response.

Hurricane Melissa became one of the most powerful hurricanes in recorded history, its center core boosting the hurricane's highest estimated sustained winds to 180 mph on the morning of Oct. 28, and gusts to more than 250 mph.
A drone view of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa, in Belmont, Jamaica, November 2, 2025.
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Overview

  • Officials have confirmed 32 deaths in Jamaica and are verifying additional fatalities, with the regional toll at least 65.
  • Roughly half of electricity customers have been restored, but 25 communities remain cut off and 641 of 763 water systems were disrupted.
  • U.S. assistance totals an initial $11 million with a deployed State Department task force and helicopters, while the UN has allocated $4 million and NGOs are delivering aid.
  • Catastrophe financing has been triggered, including a record $70.8 million CCRIF payout and Jamaica’s $150 million catastrophe bond to provide quick liquidity.
  • Early estimates point to massive economic losses, with UNDRR warning they could approach Jamaica’s annual GDP and heavy damage reported in western parishes and agriculture.