The destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica is expected to result in insured losses ranging from $1 billion to $3 billion, according to property intelligence firm Cotality.
While the insured losses are significant, they represent only a fraction of the overall property damage. Cotality estimates the total cost of property damage at between $2 billion and $5 billion, although much uncertainty remains due to limited observations of the extent of the destruction. Other sources estimate the total economic losses at approximately $8 billion, which would equate to roughly 35% of Jamaica’s gross domestic product.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm near New Hope, Jamaica, with winds reaching 185 miles (298 kilometres) per hour. It is now the most powerful storm ever recorded to have struck the island. After Jamaica, the hurricane moved towards Haiti, Cuba, and Bermuda, leaving at least 50 people dead across the Caribbean, according to Agence France-Presse.
Cotality reports that around 25% of Jamaica’s population lived in parishes affected by hurricane-force winds. However, the area surrounding the capital, Kingston, was fortunate to avoid a direct hit.
The storm caused severe damage to infrastructure, with at least 40% of buildings and roads in Montego Bay—Jamaica’s key tourist hub—and much of the western part of the country suffering significant harm, according to a Bloomberg analysis of satellite data processed by the Earth Observatory of Singapore.