Rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa

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Client Type

Architecture, Engineering & Construction

Insurance

Owners/Corporate

Client Type

Architecture, Engineering & Construction

Insurance

Owners/Corporate

In October 2025, Hurricane Melissa—a Category 5 storm—made historic landfall in Jamaica, leaving catastrophic damage in its wake. From luxury resorts to uninsured residential properties, structures across the island were destroyed.

With tourism as the backbone of Jamaica’s economy, thousands of residents lost income and resources to rebuild. Several resorts turned to YA Group for expert damage assessment and reconstruction planning to restore accommodations, attract visitors, and revive the local economy. YA’s team deployed quickly to visit the claim site and investigate water damage and document the loss, provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM), and provide detailed moisture and repair scope maps. We delivered a multi-service approach, engaging members from our equipment, contents, engineering, environmental, and construction consulting teams.

Challenge Overview

The buildings feature reinforced concrete structures with masonry walls, complemented by roofs of concrete decks and timber rafters finished in metal, asphalt shingles, thatch, and modified bitumen. Exteriors showcase elegant stucco and cement board siding, while interiors blend smooth plaster, painted drywall, custom millwork, luxury vinyl plank, tile, and commercial-grade carpet.

Our Area of Impact

YA identified water damage in every building at varying levels. Water intrusion into the interiors resulted from damage to the roof, windows, and doors caused by hurricane-force wind and rain. Impacted building materials include built-in millwork, including custom finishes, flooring, and interior doors.

YA Group were asked to provide detailed mapping of impacted building materials. Utilizing infrared and IICRC moisture assessment practices, YA is preparing documentation based on observations of the impacted and identified building finishes. While onsite, YA collected extensive photo documentation of the structure and damaged areas utilizing drone and 360-degree photo capturing technology. Our team relies heavily on visual and instrumental observations, construction drawings, industry experience, and field notes to prepare the building repair and replacement scope.

Our contents services team also performed a comprehensive contents assessment across the entire resort, including guest rooms, common areas, restaurants, pools, spas, and back-of-house spaces. We completed detailed physical inventories, evaluated restoration feasibility, and developed market-supported RCV/ACV valuations. We also reviewed and reconciled all provided inventories and documentation, verified accuracy through onsite coordination, and assessed specialty items as needed. The resulting report provides a clear and defensible valuation of the property’s contents to support claim resolution.

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