KINGSTON, Jamaica – Residents of eastern Jamaica experienced one of the most destructive cyclones in a generation, when Hurricane Sandy struck the island on October 24, says Chris Hind, General Manager of JN General Insurance Company (JNGI).
On the one hand, it was a Category One Hurricane that caused one death and an interruption in water and electricity supplies. However, those who have seen the damage in the eastern parishes which felt its full impact, and are aware of the path of destruction it tore after leaving Jamaica, take it more seriously.
“We took a direct hit from Sandy,” Mr. Hind said. “This has a more devastating effect than when a hurricane tracks close to us.”
Chris Hind, General Manager, JN General Insurance Company
He noted that the last time Jamaica took a direct hit, was from Hurricane Gilbert, 24 years ago; and pointed out that, “Even now, many Jamaicans are aware of Hurricane Charlie, known as the infamous “51 Storm”, because it was the last hurricane to score a direct hit on the island prior to Hurricane Gilbert.
“I travelled to St. Thomas a few days after Hurricane Sandy struck, and the devastation was striking, especially beyond Yallahs,” Mr. Hind stated. “Some houses were roofless, the vegetation had been scoured, many power lines were down, and the there was quite a bit of coastal erosion.”
“Even now, two weeks after, there are communities off the main roads, struggling to get electricity and water supplies restored,” he said. “As well, there are individuals whose small houses were utterly demolished.”
The hurricane took an unusual path, crossing the eastern end of the island on a northerly track, Mr. Hind stated. This explains the similar damage suffered in eastern Portland and high levels of destruction in the mountainous interior of both parishes further west, stretching into St. Mary and upper St. Andrew.
Andrea Gordon-Martin, Assistant General Manager JNGI, said the insurer, in collaboration with its subsidiary, the Jamaica Automobile Association, immediately activated its Catastrophe Mobile Response Teams, which went out to clients who indicated that they had suffered damage. They carried recovery “Cat Kits” containing tarpaulins, water and hand sanitizer.
Efforts were made to contact the entire home insurance customer base of JNGI to determine whether damage had been suffered, she said. “The teams were sent out first to those areas in the east, where the island had been hit hardest.”
Mrs. Gordon-Martin said that the Response Teams found evidence of roof damage or loss in the badly affected areas, and mainly problems with flooding elsewhere.
“We appointed loss adjustors where the damage justified it,” she stated. “This will ensure speedy settlement of insurance claims.”
Mr. Hind also pointed out that such direct damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, would not be its only impact on the island.
Catastrophe Mobile Response Team member Nadine Cushnie, (left) and Khadene Bennett-Mitchell (right), both of JN General Insurance, present a Cat Kit to Margarette Gough, and her son Richard Bryan, on October 29. The Kits contain water, tarpaulins and hand sanitizer.
The hurricane left Jamaica heading towards the North American coastline, and ultimately reached a Category Two status, stretching more than one thousand miles end to end at one point, making it the largest Atlantic Hurricane on record; as well as, the second costliest, according to early insurance estimates.
Hurricane Sandy was ultimately responsible for the deaths of 185 persons, including 113 in the United States of America, 54 in Haiti, and two as far away as Canada; along with damage of approximately US$52 billion.
Chris Hind (from left), General Manager, JN General Insurance (JNGI), inspect Cat Kits with Catastrophe Mobile Response Team members Khadene Bennett-Mitchell, JNGI; Nadine Cushnie, JNGI; Shane Wiles, Jamaica Automobile Association; and Andrea Gordon-Martin, Assistant General Manager, JNGI.
“This could impact on our insurance rates here in Jamaica, if international reinsurers who cover the local industry, take significant measures to recoup their losses,” the JNGI General Manager pointed out.
“The lesson this hurricane teaches us is not to let your guard down,” Mr. Hind declared. “It came late in the Hurricane Season, and Sandy may not have been the highest intensity cyclone we have faced, but the people of Portland, St. Thomas and St. Mary are likely to remember it for a long time to come.”
