Holness tells Rozelle Estate developers in St. Thomas to build for Category 5 storms

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness is pressing the team behind the Rozelle Estate housing development in St. Thomas to revisit their building plans and make sure the homes going up can stand firm against severe weather.

He made the appeal yesterday at the project's groundbreaking ceremony, drawing attention to the destruction left by Hurricane Melissa in October and the fast approach of a fresh hurricane season. The 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 through November 30.

Given where Rozelle Estate sits geographically, Dr. Holness said the development needs to be engineered to ride out a Category 5 storm. He further pushed the developers to design beyond the minimum standards currently in place.