The parish of St. Elizabeth in southwestern Jamaica has emerged as one of the hardest-hit regions following Hurricane Melissa’s landfall, with widespread reports of destruction, flooding, and critical infrastructure damage.

Officials describe St. Elizabeth as being “underwater”, with entire communities submerged during the storm. The parish’s main hospital in Black River suffered major damage, including loss of its roof and compromised structural integrity, impeding medical care and emergency response.

Roadways are blocked by flooding, fallen trees and landslides. For instance, the main Santa Cruz road was impassable, significantly hampering relief efforts. Many homes and small businesses report devastating losses, one St. Elizabeth business owner noted that everything on his property was destroyed.

The region’s role as a major agricultural district, often referred to as Jamaica’s “breadbasket”, heightens concern, as farm damage threatens food security and economic stability. 

As Melissa hit with Category 5 intensity near the coast, St. Elizabeth faced both extremely high winds and intense rainfall, creating a dual threat of roof destruction and flood submersion.

Emergency operations centers, police stations, and utility networks are reported down or significantly impaired in St. Elizabeth, affecting coordination of rescue and relief. Many communities in St. Elizabeth are rural or along the south coast, where storm surge, flood-runoff and landslides are more likely, making them harder to serve in immediate aftermath.

With families trapped in flooded homes and roads blocked, urgent evacuation and rescue efforts are needed. Hospitals damaged and power outages mean care for injured or ill residents is compromised; rapid restoration of health services is crucial.

Many residents are displaced, have lost roofs, and lack power or safe water. Given the agricultural damage, food supply chains are threatened. Clearing roads, restoring power and communication, repairing public buildings and homes will take significant effort and resources. Agricultural losses (crops, housing, businesses) mean economic recovery for St. Elizabeth will be protracted.

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