The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has completed damage assessments of 17,000 households, to date, with some 47,000 persons recorded as being impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

Portfolio minister Pearnel Charles Jr made the disclosure during a press briefing at the ministry’s North Street offices in Kingston on November 20.

The assessments are being conducted using the Jamaica Household Disaster Impact and Needs Assessment (JHDINA) form, which has been digitised to improve the speed, accuracy, and accessibility of the data collected. 

The process, which is ongoing, will inform the Government’s programme to restore households and communities that have been severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

Minister Charles Jr noted that, as the affected communities are stabilised, the ministry will begin the transition from emergency relief to recovery.

“That’s very important. This is going to include us ensuring that we identify the persons who have suffered and that we design the structure for income assistance and restoration of livelihoods in partnership with the key public and private-sector organisations and the international development partners,” Charles Jr. said.

“I want to emphasise – all assistance will be based on verified need,” he pointed out.

Charles Jr. said that the damage assessment process has been strengthened significantly since the passage of Hurricane Beryl, with improved tools, larger teams, ongoing training for persons going into the field and a more coordinated national approach.

A disaster self-reporting platform has also been introduced that allows households to submit their information online.

Minister Charles Jr. said that the JHDINA platform has transformed the data-collection process, making it more efficient.

“It’s not only faster but because as you use the tablet or the phone with the application, [the data] is immediately uploaded, so it eliminates the need for data re-entry. It also eliminates the mistakes that come with having to move data from one place to the next,” he explained.

The JHDINA system has also reduced subjectivity in reporting damage, with one of the most significant upgrades being the ability to capture geotagged photographs during household visits.

“When I previously would say in my subjective mind that there is massive destruction… that now can be reconciled, because the tool allows us to capture and retain images and also global positioning system (GPS) coordinates,” Charles Jr. pointed out.

The minister said that the door-to-door evaluations continue daily, along with ongoing training to expand the number of personnel in the field.

“We trained yesterday, and we’re training today, and we’re training tomorrow, and we continue to train, because our effort is to expand the boots on the ground so that we can get as many assessments done as possible,” he noted.

All information regarding assistance will be released through authorised government channels and persons can also visit the various Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) offices islandwide.

Up to November 16, a total of 56,420 food packages have been distributed by the ministry and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).