Hurricane Melissa Housing Relief Moves Into Modular Home Roll-Out

KINGSTON, Jamaica — State Minister Abka Fitz-Henley says the Government is now moving more quickly to turn donations received after Hurricane Melissa into housing support for Jamaicans who lost their homes in the storm.

The commitment, first outlined by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in December last year, involves using money given through the Support Jamaica portal to help provide houses for affected families. Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica in October 2025 and left major damage across the island’s western parishes.

Fitz-Henley, speaking with reporters after a function at Jamaica House on Thursday, said the programme has advanced to the stage where bases are being prepared for modular units. He said the choice of suitable houses, the procurement arrangements and the shipment of the units to Jamaica all required time, but insisted the project is now in execution.

The state minister in the Office of the Prime Minister said the Administration has started issuing grants to people selected to receive modular houses, allowing them to build the bases needed for the structures. Those bases, he said, must be cleared by the relevant municipal corporations.

Fitz-Henley said the Government remains committed to using the post-Melissa donations in a way that directly improves the lives of Jamaicans affected by the hurricane. He argued that helping families regain shelter is among the most meaningful uses of the funds, given the devastation caused by the system.

He said the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management has allocated 600 million of the donated funds to help construct bases so that affected residents can be housed as quickly as possible.

After questions from Opposition Senator Floyd Morris, Fitz-Henley recently advised Parliament that 924 modular houses are already in Jamaica. He also said another 700 units are being shipped to the island, with a further 700 expected after that.

On Tuesday, Robert Montague, the minister responsible for Land Titling and Settlements, visited the ODPEM storage site at Twickenham Park in St Catherine, where some of the modular houses are being kept. Montague told journalists that the Government is focused on placing the units in locations that are safe and environmentally sound.