World Bank, IDB, Estimate US$8.8Bn (41% of GDP) Damage by Melissa

• The World Bank, in coordination with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), estimates that the physical damage to Jamaica caused by Hurricane Melissa totals US$8.8Bn – equivalent to 41% of the country’s 2024 GDP – making it the costliest hurricane in Jamaica’s recorded history.
• The Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE), conducted immediately after the hurricane, assessed physical damage across residential, non-residential, infrastructure, and agricultural sectors. It does not include broader economic losses, which are expected to be even more significant. This assessment will inform a more detailed evaluation of damages and economic losses by sectors as part of a collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and under the leadership of the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
• According to the preliminary findings, 41% of the assessed damages were to residential buildings, 33% to infrastructure, 21% to non-residential buildings, and 5% to the agriculture sector, including livestock and related infrastructure. While physical damage to agriculture is comparatively lower, the sector is expected to face significant economic losses.
• “The scale of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa demands a fast, coordinated, and evidence-based response,” said Anabel González, IDB Vice President for Countries and Regional Integration.
• Jamaica’s comprehensive disaster risk financing system has positioned the country to respond to a range of impacts using multiple financial instruments. A disaster of this magnitude, however, will require scaled-up and well-coordinated efforts and partnerships. The World Bank and the IDB are supporting the Government of Jamaica through contingent financing, technical assistance – including mechanisms like GRADE – and long-term support to coordinate resilient recovery and reconstruction.
• The GRADE methodology provides an independent, rapid estimation of physical post-disaster damage, offering an initial sector-by-sector quantification of a disaster’s severity. The GRADE report for Jamaica was conducted and financially supported by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the Ministry of Finance of Japan, through the World Bank program for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Developing Countries, in collaboration with the World Bank.

(Sources: World Bank)