"Kingston was spared. There's damage to infrastructure, power lines down. So roads have issues, have blockages in Kingston. As we were seeing Melissa bear down on Jamaica over the last couple of days, that was a critical fear, that we would see Kingston, the administrative capital, be heavily, heavily affected by this historic storm. But thankfully, we saw that the storm did move further west. But the devastation in the west and south of Jamaica is absolutely cataclysmic, Michel."
"It'll have a dramatic impact on the food security for Jamaica for the days, weeks and months to come, Michel. We were working with the national government last year in response to Hurricane Beryl. This was a hurricane that moved to the south of Jamaica. It was a Category 4 storm, arrived early in the season, one of the earliest hurricanes to occur in the Atlantic hurricane season."
Kingston avoided the worst of the storm but suffered infrastructure damage, including downed power lines and blocked roads. The west and south of Jamaica experienced cataclysmic devastation. St. Elizabeth Parish, a major agricultural breadbasket, was submerged and sustained extensive infrastructure destruction. Flooding and crop losses will dramatically affect food security in Jamaica for days, weeks, and months. Last year’s Hurricane Beryl also impacted St. Elizabeth as an early Category 4 storm. Significant humanitarian assistance and reconstruction will be necessary to restore infrastructure, clear roads, and address urgent food needs.
Read at www.npr.org
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