标签： Jamaica

Seven months after Hurricane Melissa swept through Jamaica’s southwestern parishes, leaving a trail of billions of dollars in damage and widespread service disruptions, the Caribbean nation is gearing up for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially kicks off on June 1 and runs through November 30. Major public utility companies across the island say they have integrated hard-won lessons from last year’s storm into extensive upgrades, leaving them as prepared as possible to face whatever the new season brings.

Forecasters at the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are projecting a below-normal season for 2025, giving the island some breathing room after last year’s destructive storm. The agency’s latest outlook puts the probability of a below-normal season at 55%, compared to a 35% chance of near-normal activity and just a 10% chance of an above-normal season. In total, NOAA expects between eight and 14 named storms (systems with sustained winds of 39 mph or higher) to form this season. Of those, three to six are forecast to strengthen into hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or above, and one to three of those are expected to develop into major hurricanes carrying winds of 111 mph or higher.

Last week, representatives from Jamaica’s four largest critical service providers — mobile and fixed network operators Digicel and Flow Jamaica, electric utility Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), and the National Water Commission (NWC) — laid out their comprehensive preparedness plans during a Jamaica Observer Press Club held at the newspaper’s Kingston headquarters, confirming their infrastructure and response systems have been upgraded to withstand future storm events.

For JPS, which suffered the most severe damage from Hurricane Melissa, the recovery and rebuilding process has been a transformative one. The storm caused an estimated $3.5 billion in damage to the company’s transmission and distribution networks, cutting power to more than 540,000 customers across the island. Speaking at the event, JPS Chief Operating Officer Lance Becca told reporters that power has now been restored to more than 99.9% of affected customers, with only a small number of isolated connections still pending work.

Rather than simply replacing damaged infrastructure with identical materials, Becca explained that JPS has used the recovery period to build stronger, more wind-resistant systems. “We’re not just going back with the same old poles,” he said. “We’re using thicker poles, and we’ve adopted a new technology called PoleCrete, a rapid-setting backfill that secures pole foundations far more effectively than traditional materials. We’ve also added more storm guides to anchor poles, making them far more resistant to the high winds that come with hurricane systems.” All lessons identified during the response to Hurricane Melissa have now been integrated into the company’s new season planning, he added.

Digicel’s Chief Executive Officer Stephen Murad noted that hurricane preparedness has become an ongoing, permanent part of the company’s operations rather than a pre-season activity. “I don’t think we have been out of hurricane preparation and execution for the past two years, so I don’t think hurricane prep really exists as a one-off phrase any more in our world,” Murad said, referencing back-to-back storm activity dating to Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.

Within three months of Hurricane Melissa hitting Jamaica last October, Digicel had restored 100% service to both its mobile and fixed network customers. Since that recovery was completed, the company has focused on expanding and hardening its infrastructure. It has added 10 new communication towers, bringing its total network to 935 towers, with five more planned for construction this year to improve coverage amid Jamaica’s growing number of high-rise buildings, which can block wireless signals. The company has also laid additional fibre transport routes, deployed more solar-powered cell sites, and built out alternative connectivity options via satellite and microwave technology to keep networks running during extended outages. Operationally, Digicel has also refined its large-scale fuel distribution protocols to keep backup generators running for longer periods during grid disruptions.

“Up to the hurricane we had 925 towers in Jamaica as part of this expansion programme…Every year we will build more towers, because we need more coverage. More high-rise buildings in Jamaica means coverage is intercepted by concrete and steel, so we need to continually expand our infrastructure to meet that need,” Murad explained. “I always think the most important thing is you have to learn and learn quickly, and do things differently, because I think the public would not forgive us if we didn’t learn from our experiences and adapt.”

Flow Jamaica’s Vice-President and General Manager Stephen Price said the company has also poured hundreds of millions of dollars into infrastructure upgrades since Hurricane Melissa, adapting to a 60% jump in network demand as Jamaicans increasingly rely on digital services. As of the Press Club event, 100% of Flow’s mobile customers have had their service fully restored, while 82% of fixed network customers are back online, with remaining recovery work ongoing. Price noted that network traffic across Flow’s networks has grown roughly 60% since last October, reflecting a steady increase in digital adoption across the country.

To date, Flow has invested approximately US$85 million in core network infrastructure and an additional US$27 million to expand spectrum capacity. The company has also buried 80 kilometers of vulnerable transmission cables underground to protect them from wind damage, and reinforced critical sub-sea cable landing sites in storm-prone areas including Negril and Black River to reduce risk from storm surge. Through a new partnership with Starlink, Flow now has direct-to-cell satellite capabilities that support roughly 40% of its mobile network, dramatically expanding its disaster recovery options for both residential and business customers.

“While no network is completely immune to any kind of extreme weather event, what is key is that we have robust business continuity plans in place to respond as quickly as possible when storms hit,” Price said. “We are as prepared as we can be for this season.”

Even the National Water Commission, which is still completing repairs to some damaged infrastructure, says it is entering the new season in a far stronger position than it was ahead of Hurricane Melissa. NWC Acting Corporate Public Relations Manager Delano Williams told the Press Club that water service has been restored to between 98% and 99% of the commission’s 551,000 customers, though the storm caused such widespread damage that some communities still experience intermittent service while repairs are finalized.

“Almost no infrastructure escaped unscathed from the scale of damage Hurricane Melissa brought. Even our 100,000-gallon storage tanks were decimated,” Williams said. “What that means is that even while we’ve restored most of our facilities, there are still places where water supply has not come back to its optimum regularity. Where residents used to get water seven days a week, they may now get it four or five days while we complete repairs to damaged pipelines and rehabilitate saturated wells.”

To address these vulnerabilities, the NWC is investing approximately $1.2 billion in backup power and resilience projects. The commission has already begun procuring mobile backup generators, which will be deployed at both primary treatment plants serving major town centers and secondary distribution facilities that deliver water to inland and rural communities. It is also rehabilitating damaged wells and developing alternative water sources across the island to reduce reliance on single systems during storms. When asked if Jamaicans should feel confident heading into the new season, Williams gave a clear answer: “My short answer is yes.”

The 2025 hurricane season comes as Jamaica continues to clean up and rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, with utility companies across the island emphasizing that every lesson from the 2024 storm has been used to strengthen their ability to serve customers through future extreme weather events.

For 27 years, the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards has stood as more than a celebration of Caribbean culinary excellence—it has served as a foundational pipeline for nurturing emerging Jamaican talent in the hospitality and food industries. This year, the long-running initiative continued its legacy of investment in local youth, awarding six students from the University of Technology (UTech) Jamaica’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management with a combination of full scholarships and need-based bursaries.

The six recipients—Khalisa McLean, Kanye Swaby, Yolan Davis, Tyssanne Thomas, Kia Campbell, and Anna-Kaye Doyle—earned their awards after a rigorous conversational interview process conducted by a panel of industry and academic leaders. Headed by Novia McDonald-Whyte, the award program’s founder and chair, the panel also included UTech Chief Technical Officer Dr Garcia Green, Jamaica Observer Managing Editor Miguel Thomas, and guest judge Angelique Beaubrun. Following the interviews, three students were selected for full scholarships, while the remaining three received partial bursaries to support their ongoing studies.

Since the scholarship program was launched alongside the Food Awards nearly three decades ago, it has disbursed more than JMD $20 million in financial support to over 60 aspiring culinary professionals. McDonald-Whyte, who also serves as senior associate editor for lifestyle and social content at the Jamaica Observer and is a former UTech lecturer, framed the initiative as a natural extension of the publication’s core mission: lifting Jamaican communities, a philosophy first laid out by late chair Gordon “Butch” Stewart. For her, the program also addresses a gap she has observed throughout her decades in the industry: many talented local students lack the access to industry networks, fine dining experiences, and educational resources that their more privileged peers take for granted.

In remarks to candidates ahead of the interviews, McDonald-Whyte emphasized a core expectation for the next generation of Jamaican culinary leaders: centering and elevating authentic local cuisine even as the global food landscape grows more interconnected. “We need to stop searching for the Michelin, because we are the Michelin here,” she told the aspiring chefs. “We need to really celebrate that which is ours, elevate that which is ours, and, obviously, we look to you guys to do that because you are the future. Don’t think that it’s exhausted, we’ve only just begun.”

That vision resonated deeply with the three full scholarship recipients, each of whom brings a unique personal perspective and creative approach to Jamaican culinary arts.

Tyssanne Thomas, a second-year student awarded the Novia McDonald-Whyte Scholarship, said her path to culinary arts grew out of a personal journey to rebuild her relationship with food. A self-described reformed picky eater, she developed a curiosity for the ingredients and processes that shape the food people eat every day. When asked to describe an original dish she might create for the panel, she outlined a creative reimagining of local staple ingredients: a cornmeal soufflé topped with caramelised plantains and bright passion fruit sauce. For Thomas, cooking is far more than following a recipe—it is an expression of individual identity. “We all are humans, but we have different fingerprints. You may be a chef, but your story is different from my story…a standard recipe, but the heart and soul that I put in it is different from what you put in it,” she explained. Eager to live up to the program’s expectations, she aims to serve as an inspiration for other young aspiring culinary professionals.

For Anna-Kaye Doyle, a 25-year-old third-year student who works full-time to support her son and mother as the household’s sole breadwinner, the full scholarship opens doors that have long been closed to her due to family responsibilities. She recalled the heartbreak of having to turn down a once-in-a-lifetime exchange program spot in Canada after being selected, saying “My fear is graduating as a ghost.” Still, she has continued to nurture her creativity, focused on reimagining familiar ingredients in unexpected new forms. “My whole goal when it comes on to food is to be out of the norm, it is to present what you already know in a way that you never thought of it,” she said.

Kia Campbell, a third-year Japanese-Jamaican student and full-time worker who holds a first-degree black belt in karate, draws on her dual cultural heritage to create innovative fusion cuisine. When asked about an original dish concept, she described a fusion sushi roll blending Jamaica’s iconic ackee with Japanese natto—a creative combination that reflects her overlapping identities. For Campbell, the scholarship allows her to serve as an ambassador for young people from mixed and multicultural backgrounds, embodying Jamaica’s national motto “Out of Many One People.” “To show young people from different backgrounds and ethnicities that wherever you want to be, no matter where you come from, you can be…if you really want it,” she said.

McLean, Swaby, and Davis rounded out the group of awardees as bursary recipients, bringing their own innovative ideas to the table. Looking back at the program’s 27-year history, McDonald-Whyte noted how far the culinary industry has come in Jamaica. When the Food Awards first launched, working in a professional kitchen was not seen as a prestigious or desirable career path. Today, she pointed out, local caterers and chefs are celebrated stars—proof that the program’s decades of investment in lifting local talent have already yielded transformative results for the nation’s culinary landscape.

MANCHESTER, Jamaica — A destructive overnight fire ripped through two commercial properties on Mandeville’s Ward Avenue on Saturday, leaving two local entrepreneurs facing combined losses topping $20 million and disrupting utility service for dozens of nearby businesses.

Emergency dispatchers at the Mandeville Fire Station got the alert at approximately 4:15 a.m., confirming that two adjacent establishments — Newsman Fry Chicken, a quick-service fried chicken restaurant, and No Traction Chill Spot, a local neighborhood bar — were engulfed in flames.

Responding crews worked quickly to corral the spread of the fire, completing full cooling-down operations and extinguishing the blaze entirely just after 6 a.m. In initial assessments released after the fire was put out, the Jamaica Fire Department pegged total property and asset losses at roughly $20 million.

Adeka Miller, the owner of Newsman Fry Chicken, told reporters his eatery had only been open to the public for one month before the fire hit. He estimated his personal losses alone come out to around $10 million.

Miller explained he first got word of the emergency around 4:25 a.m., when a caller notified him flames were erupting from the bar next door to his restaurant. When he arrived on scene, he initially thought only the bar had been completely destroyed, with his restaurant suffering only partial external damage. A closer look inside confirmed the entire restaurant had been gutted.

“I lost everything. I would say about $10 million, including equipment, stock and cash, was in there; it is a great loss, a great blow,” Miller said. The new restaurant employed four local workers, leaving their employment status uncertain in the wake of the disaster.

As of Saturday, officials have not confirmed a cause for the fire, with active investigations still ongoing to pinpoint what sparked the blaze.

DUBLIN, Ireland — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Ireland’s capital Saturday, united in a call for accountability over the death of 35-year-old Yves Sakila, a Congolese man who had built his life in Ireland since 2004, after he died while being restrained by private security personnel earlier this month. Protesters have drawn a stark parallel between Sakila’s death and the 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of U.S. police, a killing that ignited the global Black Lives Matter movement and brought worldwide attention to systemic anti-Black violence.

The fatal incident unfolded on May 15 on one of central Dublin’s busiest shopping streets, outside a popular department store. Viral video footage shared widely across social media platforms captured the sequence of events: security workers pinned Sakila to the ground, holding him in that position for nearly five full minutes. Shortly after the restraint, Sakila lost consciousness, and he was pronounced dead after being rushed to a local hospital.

Irish law enforcement has launched an official inquiry into all circumstances surrounding the restraint and subsequent death, but as of Saturday’s demonstration, no findings have been made public, and no charges have been filed against any of the security personnel involved. A post-mortem examination carried out by the state’s chief pathologist has been completed, though the official results remain under wraps pending further investigation.

Approximately 100 attendees turned out for the peaceful demonstration, where speakers highlighted growing community concerns over excessive force, inadequate training for private security staff, and systemic racial inequity in Ireland. “We need justice for Yves Sakila. We need a proper investigation into his death,” Eoghan O Ceannabhain, a Dublin-based musician and protester, told reporters. He went on to note that the incident raises urgent questions about the quality and anti-bias training provided to private security operatives working in public spaces.

The killing has resonated deeply across Ireland’s Black and African communities, especially among the country’s Congolese diaspora, which has long highlighted unaddressed issues of racial profiling and discrimination. “We are standing for the community to ask for justice,” Ono Tambura, a 60-year-old Congolese woman who has resided in Ireland for years, said on the protest lines.

Beyond calls for a full investigation into Sakila’s death, organizers have laid out a clear set of demands for Irish authorities. They are calling for an independent, fully transparent probe that includes a full review of all existing security camera footage and witness testimony. Demonstrators are also pushing for the immediate public release of forensic post-mortem results, and full legal accountability for any individual found to have acted unlawfully in the incident. On a systemic level, campaigners are urging the Irish national government to finally address longstanding complaints of racial profiling and institutional discrimination raised repeatedly by members of racial minority communities across the country.