Summary

It took around 480,000 trucks to haul away 4.8 million metric tons (5.3 million tons) of rubble across western Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean in 2025, United Nations satellites showed. The strongest hurricane on record in Jamaica, the Category 5 storm flooded plantain farms, blew the roofs off 120,000 homes and knocked out power across much of the island. The Planning Institute of Jamaica put the cost of damage and losses at up to $12.2 billion—56.7% of the country's 2024 gross domestic product, or GDP.

AI summaries can be wrong sometimes—always verify important details using the source article.