When the headlines moved on, the heartbreak stayed.
Hurricane Melissa left Jamaica’s southwest coast in pieces, but beyond the main towns are smaller districts still fighting to be seen. From Crawford to Darliston, their stories survive in comment sections, phone videos, and community Facebook pages.
These are the voices behind the silence our under-the-radar heroes.
1. Crawford – St Elizabeth
Locals posted live videos as roofs flew off and wooden houses splintered. Days later, residents say “no zinc, no water, no word from officials.”
2. New Hope in St Elizabeth
At the edge of the storm’s landfall, floodwater turned roads into rivers. Farmers lost goats, fields, and every chicken coop on the ridge.
3. Howard Acres in Black River
A quiet housing scheme now ankle-deep in mud. Families post photos of sofas floating through living rooms.
4. Parottee & Pedro Plains in St Elizabeth
Coastal winds pushed seawater into homes; fishers lost traps, nets, and the season’s income.
5. Fullerswood / Mountainside in St Elizabeth
Families escaped through chest-high water. Their biggest threat now: mold and mosquitoes.
6. Belmont in Westmoreland
A resort strip without light for a week. Locals cook over coal pots and line up for charging stations.
7. Bluefields in Westmoreland
Farmers report flattened banana groves and blocked lanes. “We need chainsaws more than cameras,” one man wrote online.
8. Darliston in Westmoreland
Police-station roof gone, access roads cut. Residents plead on Facebook for tarps and water.
9. Grange Hill in Westmoreland
Video comments show zinc scattered “like playing cards.” A youth group has started patching roofs with scrap metal.
10. Friendship in Westmoreland
Power poles down. Children using candles to do homework in what’s left of the veranda.
11. White House in Westmoreland
Fishers’ boats holed or missing. Ice storage destroyed; no way to preserve catches.
12. Savanna-la-Mar Corridor in Westmoreland
Between Negril and Sav, blocked roads trap supplies. Drive-through videos show weeks of debris.
13. Greenfield in St Elizabeth
A neighborhood pantry now feeding 50 people from one house. Food shortage is the loudest cry.
14. Falmouth Backstreets in Trelawny
Beyond the courthouse repair, smaller lanes remain without roofs or light.
15. Blue Water / Resort Cluster in Trelawny St. James
Tourism workers share Reddit updates about staff housing lost while hotels rebuild first.
16. Montego Bay Outskirts in St James
Outside the tourist zone, rural homes near the hills flooded. Fox Weather viewers shared rescue clips unseen elsewhere.
17. Esher & Sandy Bay in Hanover
Residents walk miles for water. “Every bucket counts,” one comment reads.
18. Portland Cottage / St Catherine Flats Clarendon & St Catherine
Late-stage flooding hit days after landfall crops drowned, bridges gone.
What They Still Need
Across these 18 forgotten communities, people are asking for:
- Roofing materials (zinc, nails, tarps)
- Water filters and containers
- Chainsaws + fuel for clearing roads
- Non-perishable food and baby supplies
- Basic medical & hygiene kits
- School books and uniforms
All these items are tax-free until November 28 2025 under Jamaica Customs’ Hurricane Melissa Relief Waiver, covering import duty and GCT on disaster goods.
How to Help
If you’re abroad:
Mark shipments “Disaster Relief – Hurricane Melissa 2025.”
Send barrels through verified couriers or diaspora drives.
If you’re home:
Drop supplies at parish collection centers, churches, and community shelters listed by ODPEM.
Every tarp, every meal, every gesture counts.
When history looks back, it won’t remember the wind speed, it’ll remember the people who showed up after the wind stopped.
Let’s make sure no parish, no district, and no child gets forgotten again.
#ForgottenDistricts #JamaicanTrueStories #HurricaneMelissa #JamaicaStrong