Satellite images reveal hurricane devastation in Jamaica

Officials in Jamaica have not yet been able to provide a detailed assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa due to a power outage, communication problems and the treacherous nature of navigating parts of the island.

But the Category 5 storm’s devastating impact on communities is beginning to emerge from satellite images.

BBC Verify examines new footage to piece together what was destroyed and what survived.

Perhaps the most striking effect can be seen in images of the southwestern coastal harbor of the Black River.

We can identify specific buildings that have been battered or, in some cases, collapsed.

When you compare the satellite image taken on February 9 with the satellite image taken on October 29, after the hurricane hit, you can see that the distinctive white roof of the building that housed a convenience store has been replaced by a gaping hole.

A little further north, a cafe has been wiped off the map.

At the top of the image, the red roof of a warehouse has disappeared.

The outline of the fire station next to the market place is still visible, but the upper part of the building appears to have been torn off.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness described Black River as “ground zero” after sharing images of the devastation there.

Photos of the White House, a fishing village on Jamaica’s west coast that is home to several thousand people, reveal how it bore the brunt of Melissa making landfall with winds of up to 300 kilometers per hour.

Almost every structure appears to be damaged or destroyed.

It can be seen that especially the buildings near the beach have been destroyed.

These include restaurants called Marva’s and Pelican Lookout.

The top of a large circular building is now missing and further inland, a cluster of shops along the main road have been hard hit.

The fishing boats in the bay seen in satellite images on October 7 had disappeared.

Part of Montego Bay, one of Jamaica’s most popular tourist destinations, now resembles a brown swamp.

The shoreline on this part of the north-west coast has been transformed by the floodwaters that now stain the coast.

Authorities said that the facilities in the port and industrial zone were flooded.

A sports complex, as well as a container terminal, an oil storage facility and a nearby water treatment plant were also badly affected.

Montego Bay mayor Richard Vernon called it “devastated” and added that locals were doing their best to look out for each other.

Montego Bay is a popular destination for cruise ships to dock and is home to golf courses and resorts normally set next to pristine white sands.