Jamaica Declares Deadly Leptospirosis Outbreak After Hurricane Melissa

Six people have died of leptospirosis, a rare bacterial illness often found in contaminated water. The storm increased the risk of contracting the disease, officials said.

News
After Hurricane Melissa, Solar Power Kept the Electricity on for Some Jamaicans

Rooftop solar is spreading fast in Jamaica, and people with panels got their power back almost immediately. The ‘entire neighborhood benefits,’ one resident said.

News
The Jamaican Families Torn Apart by Hurricane Melissa

Days after a powerful hurricane made landfall in Jamaica, thousands of residents are now homeless and trying to make sense of how they narrowly survived. The New York Times traveled to the storm’s center in Black River, and found a community destroyed — without food or clean water — where families are desperate and still traumatized after being cut off from the outside world.

News
Death Toll Rises From Hurricane Melissa as Many Communities Remain Cut off

Authorities have yet to reach dozens of communities in Jamaica, raising the question of how many people really died in last week’s storm.

News
Jamaica Prepared a Financial Fortress for Disaster. Hurricane Melissa Will Test It.

All of Jamaica’s financial defenses — insurance, bonds and credit lines — could be deployed to recover from Hurricane Melissa. Will it be enough?

News
A Meteorologist Explains Hurricane Melissa

The hurricane that tore through the Caribbean this week broke records, rapidly intensifying and surprising some meteorologists.

News
Amid Flattened Homes, Jamaica Starts to Assess Hurricane Melissa’s Damage

The Jamaican authorities said they were not able to confirm the death toll from the storm yet, but expected it to rise in the coming days. At least 30 people died in Haiti, officials said.

News
Jamaica and Haiti Tally Hurricane Victims as Melissa Slams Cuba

About 20 people, including children, died in a Haitian community and at least three bodies were found in Jamaica, officials said, as they began to assess the huge storm’s damage.

News
The Warnings Before the Hurricane

Island countries understood that a day like this would come.

News