When Hurricane Melissa roared across Jamaica, winds tore through power lines, flooded cell sites, and left communities across the island disconnected.

For days, many Jamaicans found themselves offline and in the dark. Amid the chaos, a quiet but crucial conversation has begun: how can technology help keep Jamaica connected when the next storm comes?

In the immediate aftermath, internet connectivity across Jamaica dropped to just 30 per cent of normal levels. The western parishes—St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, and St James—were hit hardest, suffering catastrophic infrastructure damage and near-total network loss. The eastern parishes, including Kingston, St Andrew, and St Thomas, fared somewhat better but still experienced significant disruption.

Flow reported that only 40 per cent of its total network was active, with just 22 per cent of its fibre customers online due to widespread power loss. Digicel Jamaica saw only 31 per cent of mobile users connected, with nearly a quarter of its cell sites running on generators. Both providers cited major damage to physical infrastructure and extensive reliance on backup systems.

Beyond the digital blackouts, the storm left five major hospitals severely damaged, and hundreds of schools damaged or converted into emergency shelters. With power and communication systems crippled, digital transactions ground to a halt, leaving many unable to access cash or use point-of-sale systems.

Wake-up call for Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa exposed just how fragile Jamaica’s digital backbone is. Overhead power and fibre lines are highly vulnerable to wind damage; there’s limited redundancy in network routes; and many rural communities remain digitally isolated during emergencies.

Yet amid the fragility, there were glimmers of hope. Backup battery systems, fibre resilience, and emergency radio networks helped some areas recover faster. In other regions, satellite connectivity, notably through Starlink units deployed by the government, provided critical lifelines when traditional networks failed.

These small successes underscore a key point: resilience is possible with the right investments.

Learning from regional examples: Puerto Rico and Dominica

Jamaica can draw valuable lessons from regional neighbours that have faced and rebuilt from similar disasters.

After Hurricane Maria (2017), Puerto Rico embarked on an ambitious plan to modernise its power and communication grids. The island invested in microgrids, renewable-powered backup systems, and underground fibre routes to protect critical infrastructure. Additionally, partnerships with private tech firms and community-based organisations helped establish solar-powered Wi-Fi hubs in remote areas, ensuring connectivity for schools and emergency services even when the main grid failed.

Similarly, Dominica, devastated by Hurricane Maria, set a bold national goal to become the world’s first climate-resilient nation. Its approach included buried fibre-optic cables, redundant data centres, and community-based digital training to ensure local populations can manage and maintain small-scale networks. The government also launched resilience audits for telecom providers to improve their systems against future storms.

Building a smarter, stronger Jamaica

Jamaica can follow this lead by expanding microgrids and renewable energy for critical services such as hospitals, schools, and emergency shelters. Developing community mesh networks, local Wi-Fi systems that remain functional when central networks collapse. Integrating geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance, infrastructure mapping, and pre-storm risk assessments. Offering policy incentives for telecoms and tech innovators to invest in making their infrastructure stronger and more resilient, and to develop and test new technologies or solutions.

Hurricane Melissa was more than a natural disaster; it was a stress test for Jamaica’s digital backbone. It revealed vulnerabilities but also opportunities to rethink how we connect, communicate, and care for one another in a climate-uncertain future.

Building resilient networks isn’t just about keeping phones online; it’s about safeguarding communication, commerce, and community. Jamaica’s resilience will depend on how boldly it invests in technology today to withstand the storms of tomorrow.

Dionne Rose is a communications specialist, educator and blogger. Send feedback and comments to [email protected] and [email protected].