Melissa also tore through the country’s farming heartland, where staples such as yams and tomatoes are grown for the entire country. Bananas are especially vulnerable during storms because the trees they grow on are fragile, said Damien King, executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute in Kingston. “It has devastated agricultural areas, and that is going to manifest itself in terms of shortages and food prices,” he said.
The record-setting storm made landfall on Tuesday near New Hope, Jamaica, as a Category 5 hurricane packing winds of 185 miles (298 kilometers) per hour. It was the strongest storm to hit the island in more than 170 years of record keeping. At least 19 people have been killed, according to Agence France Presse, citing comments by Minister Dixon to local media late Thursday.
Authorities are still assessing the full extent of the damage, but economic losses are already estimated to be at least $8 billion, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki Research.
Much of the economic toll is likely concentrated in Jamaica due to widespread flooding, he said, with current estimates expecting around $7.7 billion in losses — more than one-third of the island’s gross domestic product. The storm missed the most densely populated islands in the Bahamas, he added, which will likely limit losses to $25 million. Meanwhile, Bermuda faces up to $150 million in impacts depending on the storm’s track as it exits the Caribbean.
“It may be days or a week or more before we have a more complete picture of the scale of destruction,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Jon Porter.
The first step with large buildings like hotels is to assess the stability of the structures, then set up generators and restore air-conditioning to stop mold from growing, said Scott State, chief executive officer of infrastructure decommissioning firm NorthStar. The company provides disaster recovery services and worked in Jamaica after Hurricane Beryl last year. “If there’s not structural integrity, then you’re looking at removing these facilities to the ground or below,” he said.
Read More: Hurricane Melissa Wreaks $8 Billion of Damage, Kills Dozens
Melissa still has the capacity for more damage. The storm is moving rapidly northeastward at hurricane strength, and is forecast to bring intense winds and heavy rain to Bermuda overnight, according to an advisory from the US National Hurricane Center.
Melissa was 160 miles northwest of Bermuda as of 11 p.m. New York time, and is set to continue gathering speed as it pushes past the islands. It is already showing signs of “structural decay,” and will weaken dramatically as it enters cooler waters in the North Atlantic near Newfoundland on Friday, US forecasters said.