Rebuilding Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa: how can PR and comms help?

Living through a category five hurricane was not on my bingo card this year. A month on, and despite the aftermath, I am thankful that my immediate family and friends are ok. How Hurricane Melissa left Jamaica will never be the same. With the country in the relief phase of rebuilding the nation, reimagining what renovation can achieve must be climate change-compliant. 

As government officials continue to articulate and reassure the country and the world about what the road to recovery will mean for Jamaica, recognising the valuable role government communicators play in building crisis management operating models, disinformation kits, and communication strategies must be a consideration for future climate risk planning.

Small island developing states (Sids) stand on the frontlines of the climate crisis, experiencing its impacts with a disproportionate intensity compared to their contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Collectively, Sids contribute less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they face the gravest consequences of the climate crisis.

Preparing for the crisis

In 2024, Jamaica experienced a Category 4 Hurricane named Beryl. Had a crisis management and preparedness strategy been in place, as a senior communications leader, authorising a mandatory simulation rehearsal would have been a priority. This would have provided an opportunity to test recovery systems, community plans, communication channels and mitigate gaps that would have been appreciated for what was in store. 

Two weeks before Hurricane Melissa’s arrival, messaging about the severity of what was expected to reach Jamaica was concluded to be no more than a tropical storm, potentially reaching category three or four. One week before and updates became frequent daily as technical professionals learned of new information. 

National media platforms were utilised in conjunction with social media to inform citizens on how to prepare. This was because Evan Thompson, the principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, confirmed that Jamaica would experience a category 5 natural disaster during media briefings at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). 

This confirmation altered the tone and delivery of the non-scripted crisis preparedness messaging. Daily communication, including the prime minister's announcements, mobile phone text alerts, and updates from government ministers, shared precautions, instructions, and directions to prepare and reduce risk for the safety of the people, public services, businesses, and infrastructure that could be impacted.

So we got prepared. We charged our devices, went to the supermarkets, bought the recommended perishables, and ensured we had a hurricane emergency toolkit. For vulnerable groups and those who believed their homes' infrastructure might not withstand the storm, homeless shelters were opened across all parishes in Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa arrives

And then she came. Hurricane Melissa arrived – the world’s strongest tropical hurricane, surpassing Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

We, the people of Jamaica, listened and watched the face of Jamaica change in a matter of minutes, hours, and days. Updates across all media platforms informed us of the destruction being caused, as she advanced and took over the country, parish by parish. TV, radio, the Internet, and social media became our 24-hour live newsroom. As power outages began to sweep over the country, the sound of the increasing gales, wind, and rain was like an orchestrated dystopian symphony of climate carnage. 

In the early hours of Tuesday 28 October, total darkness came. My electricity went out, which also meant she was now in Kingston – the collective shut-off sound brought complete silence and stillness. The volume of what was happening outside increased. Morning came, and the anxiety of what Jamaica looked like made electricity all the more necessary.

It was a couple of days after Hurricane Melissa left before hearing the first sound of electricity powering up my home again. As soon as electricity was restored, security messages from ODPEM, Digicel, a phone and data network provider, and even my United Kingdom e-sim from EE shared risk and security text messages that provided me with next-step information based on my location. The role that Jamaica’s media and broadcasting platforms have played in disseminating information is commendable.

The communication lessons to be learnt

However, the government of Jamaica must take the time to reflect and evaluate the lessons learnt. With the absence of prominent government communicators, the value of communication and the cohesion a strategic unit provides during a crisis is a reform discussion that must be tabled and addressed. As a senior communications leader, the absence of a crisis management and preparedness strategy, a national emergency planning toolkit, and a media relations and crisis communications operating model was clearly evident and heartbreaking to live through. 

Jamaica has outlined that it will cost preliminary about US$7bn (£5.29bn) for the country to be restored to what it was before Hurricane Melissa’s arrival. The agriculture and fisheries sectors released preliminary estimates calculating a loss of 20bn Jamaican dollars (£95m) in damages, which makes me wonder. How much more effective and responsive would Jamaica have been at this stage if a simulation of Hurricane Beryl had been conducted to stress-test the crisis management, local, national, and global crisis communications, as well as climate risk and contingency assets? How would things be different today?

We plan to welcome visitors back to Jamaica on 15 December, as confirmed by Edmund Bartlett, the minister of tourism. Will we be ready? How will the reopening of Jamaica be received, given the visuals the world has viewed? For the diaspora who have sprung into relief advocacy, will their efforts convert into citizens returning home?

Supporting Jamaica's relief effort through social media

With our global soft power in culture serving as a stabilising force for the first phase of recovery, Jamaican musicians like Masicka, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Mavado, and Spice, amongst others, have led relief efforts primarily across western Jamaica due to visual assets viewed across all traditional, digital, and social platforms. 

While the country can rely on its orange economy, the power of those within the creative and cultural sector, more importantly, showcased the impact of recovery in crisis communications through the unification of being a Jamaican. Utilising their media channels strategically, their influence and targeted messaging generated awareness and increased engagement, leading to a global appreciation of Jamaica’s culture during this time. Using digital and social media to communicate with the world about how they can support Jamaica's rebuilding efforts, their collective and united philanthropic efforts have stimulated millions of donations and aid globally.

While not all of Jamaica may visually resemble what top-tier media outlets like Sky News, CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and others have captured in their reports, it is essential to remember that the entire country will never forget how Hurricane Melissa has affected us for the rest of our lives. Our call to action is to join us in amplifying, advocating for, and communicating climate justice, equity, and transformation as external relations professionals for Jamaica. 

The international legal landscape for the global north, maintaining its duty towards countries like Jamaica, is now on the precipice of breaching the UN Charter Violations of International Law. Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, led a Jamaican delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in December 2024, where, on behalf of the government, Jamaica made an oral submission to the United Nations’ top Court: “The ICJ hearings at the Peace Palace stem from the UN General Assembly Resolution no 77/276. Jamaica was among 105 nations that co-sponsored this resolution. The UN’s top court is being asked to establish the obligations of states in respect of protection of the environment against harmful greenhouse emissions, as well as the consequences for causing significant harm to the climate and other parts of the environment.”

Natasha Ferguson is a global communications specialist and advisor.

How you can help

Natasha has shared details of Food For the Poor charity, which is the largest foundation in Jamaica leading on donation relief and recovery. Find out how you can donate to Food For the Poor.

Further reading

Air India crash: what are the lessons for crisis communicators?
Spain’s power outage exposed the trust gap between government and governed
Valencia floods: we need to revisit our disaster communications