JAMAICA · HURRICANE MELISSA
Key Facts
- —The country Jamaica is an English-speaking Caribbean island nation, and its western parish of St James contains Montego Bay, a tourism centre that was flooded when Hurricane Melissa struck western Jamaica in October 2025.
- —Why it matters The honours show what ordinary responders did when fire crews and the Jamaica Defence Force judged the flooded streets too dangerous, and they mark nearly a year since the strongest hurricane landfall on record in Jamaica.
- —Why now St James honoured the officers on National Heroes Day, Monday 19 October 2026, nine days before the first anniversary of Melissa on 28 October.
- —What happened Six police officers received the Hurricane Melissa Medal of Honour for rescuing a 75-year-old woman and a fellow constable from floodwaters in Montego Bay on the evening after the storm passed.
- —The numbers Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane with 160-knot winds, officials counted 45 deaths, and damage was put at US$12.2 billion, or 41% of 2024 economic output.
- —What it means for you US travellers and families with ties to western Jamaica get a picture of how recovery is going, and of how fast heavy rain can still flood Montego Bay streets.
- —Still open How many medals were awarded in all, how much of the damage is repaired, and how Jamaica will mark the anniversary on 28 October.
Six Jamaican police officers were honoured on Monday 19 October 2026 for a Hurricane Melissa rescue in Montego Bay, where floodwaters nearly swept a constable and a 75-year-old woman into a gully. The St James Municipal Corporation presented the awards at Sam Sharpe Square during its National Heroes Day ceremony, nine days before the first anniversary of the storm.
For US readers the story is a human window on the strongest hurricane to strike Jamaica on record, according to the US National Hurricane Center. Montego Bay is a tourism centre, and this year’s awardees included the head of its convention centre, an immigration manager at Sangster International Airport and a resort manager.
The Jamaica Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer both covered the ceremony, and the Gleaner told the rescue in detail on Tuesday. For the wider picture of the island, see our guide Jamaica Explained: The Country, Its Economy, Its Politics and What to Watch.
How the Melissa Rescue Played Out in Montego Bay
About two hours after Melissa passed, the rain had stopped but the water kept rising, with the power out and the city in darkness, the Gleaner reported. Detective Sergeant Ricardo Lattibeaudiere of the Montego Bay Criminal Investigation Branch said vehicles were being swept away along Howard Cooke Boulevard around 7 in the evening.
A 75-year-old woman had been swept from her car and was clinging to a Honda CR-V, and the officers formed a human chain through water the Gleaner put at shoulder height. The Observer quoted the sergeant as saying the water was about neck height and that the woman was too frightened to let go.
Constable Horace Bryan climbed onto the CR-V to help her across, but a surge pushed it away from the chain towards a gully behind the police station that drains to the sea. Three tyres were already over the edge, and a fourth, caught against a kerb, held the vehicle in place, the Gleaner reported.
Firefighters judged the water too dangerous, and the Jamaica Defence Force said a helicopter rescue was too risky, according to the Gleaner. Bryan said he lost hope when he saw the fire truck turn back, and that he prayed and sang until he could remember no more songs.
The Melissa rescue turned on improvisation, with a fire hose, wire and finally a long commercial broom that Constable Walter Mothersill stretched across to the pair. The Gleaner said the woman let go mid-pull and Mothersill dipped into the water to haul her up.
Both people reached safety, and the woman, who had hurt her foot, accepted dry clothing but refused medical care, the Gleaner reported. Bryan was out of breath, and the officers’ account suggested that another five minutes in the water might have proved fatal.
The Gleaner added that Detective Corporal Ronald Bowen had earlier rescued a motorist from the same road and nearly lost his footing. After the Melissa rescue, some officers were effectively stranded at the station for about five days.
Who Else Was Honoured in St James
St James held its National Heroes Day Civic and Awards Ceremony on Monday under the theme “Resilient People with a Proud Heritage”. The Gleaner reported that 10 people received the Sam Sharpe Award for 2026, four received the Mayor’s Special Award, and several individuals and organisations received the Hurricane Melissa Medal of Honour.
Before the event, the Jamaica Information Service quoted Mayor Richard Vernon as saying 10 people were set to receive the Municipal Medal of Honour. Neither newspaper listed every recipient, so the final number is not confirmed, and the Melissa rescue officers are only one group among them.
The Observer named Petroy Maxwell, who helped neighbours in Catherine Hall escape rising water, including a woman trapped when swollen doors jammed. It also named volunteer Akeem Nesbeth, who moved elderly residents of a nursing home to safety after an alert from Mount Salem, despite a cut on his foot.
Father Dalmas Agan was honoured for protecting children at the Mustard Seed Children’s Home, the Observer reported. Courtney Campbell of Westgreen received his medal posthumously, because both newspapers say he helped neighbours in danger of drowning, contracted leptospirosis and later died.
The Sam Sharpe awardees included a cleansing inspector, a newspaper director, a retired principal, a convention centre director, a pastor, a photographer, an airport immigration manager, a music teacher, a regional health director and a former footballer. The Mayor’s Special Award went to a school principal, a resort learning manager, a football assistant coach and an attractions company projects director.
Vernon urged residents to let “the systemic coordination, resilience, and neighbourly love” shown during Melissa become “the permanent blueprint for our daily lives”, the Gleaner reported. He also called a moment of silence for St James residents who lost their lives in the storm.
What Hurricane Melissa Did to Western Jamaica
The US National Hurricane Center’s post-season report, dated 19 May 2026, says Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, at about 1725 UTC on Tuesday 28 October 2025 as a Category 5 hurricane. Its estimated winds were 160 knots (about 184 mph), which the report calls the strongest landfall on record in Jamaica.
The report ties Melissa for the strongest Atlantic landfall by sustained wind with Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019 and the Labor Day Hurricane in the Florida Keys in 1935. It adds that the storm weakened over western Jamaica’s mountains and left the north coast as a Category 3 hurricane around 2100 UTC.
Jamaican officials reported 45 deaths from Melissa, with 18 in St Elizabeth and 15 in Westmoreland, and the report says leptospirosis deaths afterwards are not in that count. It also cites a World Bank estimate of US$12.2 billion in physical damage as of 26 March 2026, equal to 41% of Jamaica’s 2024 gross domestic product.
The report says rivers overflowed in Montego Bay because heavy rain could not drain quickly enough, a finding consistent with the officers’ accounts. The Gleaner adds that Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay suffered significant damage in the storm.
Recovery Is Still Under Way
In his National Heroes Day address on Monday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness praised the resilience Jamaicans showed after Melissa, the Observer reported. He called the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority central to repairing homes, restoring roofs and rebuilding infrastructure.
Heavy rain on Monday afternoon flooded several Montego Bay communities, including Catherine Hall, the Estuary Housing Scheme and Tucker, the Observer reported on Tuesday. It said cars were washed away in Tucker overnight and that residents had begun clean-up, days before the anniversary.
What It Means for You
Visitors planning trips to Montego Bay should check conditions with hotels and airlines, because reconstruction is still being coordinated nationally and heavy rain can flood streets quickly. The US National Hurricane Center says the Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, so the risk period has not ended.
Americans with family or business ties in western Jamaica can see from this ceremony how the first hours of the storm depended on neighbours and local officers. Our explainers Jamaica Geopolitics Explained 2026 and Jamaica in Latin America, Its Role, Weight and Alliances set out the island’s wider position, and our report Jamaica Inflation Hits 8.6% in September covers its cost pressures.
What Is Not Known
Neither newspaper gave the exact number of Hurricane Melissa Medal of Honour recipients, and the municipality’s own list was not found. The woman and the motorist rescued earlier are not named in the coverage, and her condition after the Melissa rescue is not known beyond a foot injury.
The two newspapers differ slightly on the depth of the water and the equipment used, so those details are given as each reported them. The sources do not say whether the police force plans further recognition for the six officers.
Flood damage from Monday’s rain has not been quantified, and the Observer gave no figures for homes or businesses affected. The first anniversary falls on Wednesday 28 October 2026, and no official reconstruction update for that date was available at the time of writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was honoured for the Hurricane Melissa rescue in Montego Bay?
Six police officers from St James received the Hurricane Melissa Medal of Honour on Monday 19 October 2026. They are Constable Horace Bryan, Corporal Oral Johnson, Constable Fabian Rose, Sergeant Ricardo Lattibeaudiere, Detective Corporal Ronald Bowen and Constable Walter Mothersill.
How did the Melissa rescue work?
They rescued a 75-year-old woman and Constable Bryan from floodwaters that were pushing a Honda CR-V towards a gully, the Gleaner reported. They used a fire hose, wire and a long broom after fire crews and the Jamaica Defence Force said conditions were too dangerous or too risky.
How strong was Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica?
The US National Hurricane Center estimates it made landfall near New Hope on 28 October 2025 as a Category 5 hurricane with 160-knot winds. The report calls it the strongest landfall on record in Jamaica.
How many people died and what did the storm cost?
Jamaican officials reported 45 deaths, and the National Hurricane Center report cites a World Bank damage estimate of US$12.2 billion as of 26 March 2026. Deaths from the leptospirosis outbreak that followed are not included in the 45.
Is it safe to visit Montego Bay now?
This article does not assess travel safety, and visitors should check with their hotel and airline for current conditions. Heavy rain flooded parts of the city on Monday 19 October, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs to 30 November.
Sources: Jamaica Gleaner, 20 October 2026 (rescue); Jamaica Gleaner, 20 October 2026 (Mayor Vernon and awardees); Jamaica Observer, 19 October 2026; Jamaica Observer, 19 October 2026 (Prime Minister); Jamaica Observer, 20 October 2026 (flooding); Jamaica Information Service, 1 October 2026; US National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Melissa.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief