Mental Health After Hurricane Melissa

Key points

Secondary trauma can have mental health impacts similar to those of post-traumatic stress.

Mental health impacts of secondary trauma include sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, anger etc

There are ways to cope with the mental health impacts of trauma.

As a daughter of Black River, Jamaica, the four weeks after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025 have been so so hard.

I went to Black River Primary School and my cousin was the principal during much of that time. My dad worked at the courthouse and my mom worked at the only bank in town. My aunt taught music at the high school, and at one point my sister was a nurse in the hospital, where my cousin now works. My great-great-grandfather got married in the Anglican church that is now a pile of rubble. And this is