Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Tuesday said that last week's Hurricane Melissa, the strongest-ever storm to hit its shores, caused damage to homes and key infrastructure roughly equivalent to 28% to 32% of last year's gross domestic product.
Holness told lawmakers the estimate was conservative, based on damages assessed so far, and that short-term economic output could decline by 8% to 13%.
He said costs would push up Jamaica's debt-to-GDP ratio and that his government would activate emergency provisions to temporarily suspend the country's fiscal rules.
Holness, whose government set out credit and insurance provisions for a storm similar to last year's Hurricane Beryl, said he was seeking financial support from regional allies, development agencies and the private sector.
"Experts describe Melissa to be on the very edge of what is physically possible in the Atlantic Ocean, a storm powered by record sea temperatures," he said.
"Its force was so immense that seismographs hundreds of miles away registered its passage," he added.
"Hurricane Melissa wasn't only a tragedy: It was a warning."
Scientists say storms are intensifying faster as a result of greenhouse gas emissions warming ocean surfaces, piling up fuel for seasonal storms. Caribbean leaders have long called for reparations from wealthy heavy-polluting nations in the form of aid or debt relief.
Holness pledged to rebuild infrastructure to withstand the worsening impacts of climate change, including moving parts of the electric grid underground.
"Every repaired bridge, re-roofed home and rebuilt road must be designed for the storms of tomorrow, not the storms of yesterday," he said.
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Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a journalistic investigation has found.
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service has filed charges against a group of people accused of belonging to a criminal network alleged to have attempted to forcibly seize state power. It's claimed they tried to alter the constitutional structure, with the support of foreign intelligence agencies.
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged ties between prominent Norwegians and the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, authorities and media reports said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, marking the start of high-level talks between the two NATO allies.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States must remain focused on the nuclear issue and be grounded in realism, as Washington and Tehran prepare to resume talks mediated by Oman.
James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame as Dawson Leery in the hit teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48 following a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
China became Brazil’s largest source of imported vehicles in January, overtaking long-time leader Argentina in a shift that underscores Beijing’s rapidly expanding influence in one of Latin America’s biggest auto markets.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said a bridge project linking Canada’s Ontario province with the U.S. state of Michigan would contribute to cooperation between the two countries.
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a journalistic investigation has found.
Türkiye’s national energy company, TPAO, has struck a new cooperation deal with U.S. energy giant Chevron, signing a memorandum of understanding to explore joint oil and gas exploration and production opportunities, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced on Thursday.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about artificial intelligence (AI) creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
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