30/10 • JAMAICA

The Category 5 hurricane tore across the island, uprooting trees, destroying homes, and knocking out power for more than half a million people. Western Jamaica, often described as the nation’s breadbasket, has been left reeling, with banana, sugarcane, and vegetable farms in the western parishes inundated or flattened, threatening local food supplies and exports.

“Unspeakable devastation,” one church member in the region reported; “western Jamaica is a disaster.”

Winds of more than 280 km/h and torrential rain have triggered widespread flooding, landslides and storm surges of up to four metres in low-lying areas, and power supplies remain severely affected with widespread outages continuing across the island. The roof of the Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth was ripped off by the hurricane’s winds, forcing the evacuation of patients.

At least four fatalities have been reported so far in Jamaica, according to early assessments. At least two Anglican churches are reported destroyed, including the 300 year old St John’s Anglican Church in Black River and Lacovia St. Thomas Anglican Church. Communications remain limited, and many rural communities are still cut off.

The Anglican Church in Jamaica are preparing to support the community response. Some members had received emergency training through Anglican Alliance programmes, and the Alliance’s Caribbean facilitator, Clifton Nedd, is now coordinating contact with local churches.

He highlights the urgent need to pray for families and livelihoods, the church as it responds, and the threat to food security in the coming months, especially as this region was still recovering from Hurricane Beryl earlier in the year.

Beyond Jamaica, the storm has swept through Hispaniola and Cuba. In Haiti, heavy rain and flooding have killed at least 40 people, damaged roads, and disrupted food distributions. In Cuba, now facing a downgraded Category 3 system, coastal provinces have been battered by storm surge and flooding.