The Jamaican government has escalated its post-hurricane recovery efforts with substantial financial disbursements exceeding $2 billion to citizens impacted by Hurricane Melissa. In a significant development in Westmoreland parish, more than 2,000 residents received approximately $787.5 million in the most recent allocation cycle of the Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelter (ROOFS) Programme.
At Thursday’s Grant Handover Ceremony in Savanna-la-Mar, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr detailed the structured compensation framework. The allocation system categorizes damage into three tiers to ensure equitable distribution based on severity: 827 households sustaining severe structural damage qualified for $500,000 payments each (totaling $413.5 million), 1,844 households with major damage received $200,000 each ($368.8 million), while 70 households with minor damage obtained prepaid cards valued at $75,000 each ($5.25 million).
Minister Charles emphasized the government’s dedication to transparent and efficient delivery of assistance to affected families, noting that the compensation structure directly corresponds to the extent of losses experienced by each household. This second phase of distributions follows the initial January 30 ceremony in St Elizabeth parish, demonstrating the ministry’s sustained commitment to housing restoration and accelerated community recovery.
The Westmoreland event marks part of an ongoing parish-by-parish rollout strategy, with subsequent distributions scheduled this week across Hanover, St James, Trelawny, and St Ann parishes, ensuring comprehensive nationwide coverage of hurricane relief efforts.