VI will ‘provide assistance [to Jamaica] where we are able’- Premier Wheatley
The Category 5 hurricane hit Jamaica on October 28, 2025, causing widespread destruction. According to Reuters, at least 19 people died as a result of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica.
During the continuation of the Tenth Sitting of the Second Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on Thursday, October 30, 2025, Hon Wheatley extended sympathy and solidarity to the government and people of Jamaica on behalf of the government and the people of the Virgin Islands.
The Premier confirmed that he had been in contact with Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Honourable Andrew M. Holness.
The call, he said, was to “commiserate as well as offer the VI’s thoughts, prayers and well-wishes for Jamaica’s full recovery”.
Hon Holness provided Premier Wheatley with a brief assessment of the damage and expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support offered to Jamaica in their time of need.
VI ready to assist where it can
Premier Wheatley also disclosed that the government of the Virgin Islands has been in communication with regional partners and agencies to coordinate efforts.
He also attended a meeting of Jamaican residents in the Virgin Islands last evening to collaborate on relief efforts.
“As Jamaica begins its recovery and reconstruction, I wish to assure this honourable House and the public that the Virgin Islands will do its part to provide assistance where we are able. The spirit of regional solidarity which defines us as a Caribbean people compels us to extend a hand of support in this time of great need.”
VI understands all too well
“We mourn with them for the lives lost, the homes destroyed, and the communities left reeling in the storm’s aftermath.”
Virgin Islanders and residents, he said, “understand all too well the pain and uncertainty that come in the wake of such devastation”, having endured the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
“We know the heartbreak of seeing homes reduced to rubble, infrastructure crippled, and lives uprooted overnight. Yet we also know the strength that rises from those ruins, the strength of people determined to rebuild, recover and renew.”
Premier Wheatley said it is with that shared experience and deep compassion that the Virgin Islands stand shoulder to shoulder with its Jamaican brothers and sisters.
“Their struggle is our struggle, their resilience is our inspiration.”
Virgin Islands students studying in Jamaica were evacuated to the Cayman Islands before Hurricane Melissa’s passage.
The BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) has already pledged its support for restoration efforts in Jamaica and will send a team there to assist, along with other utility companies that are members of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC).
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10 Responses to “VI will ‘provide assistance [to Jamaica] where we are able’- Premier Wheatley ”
Surely we can.l help. Surely we will help Jamaican people because it is our. We must do the best we can.
People of the B.V.I must not be allowed to forget September 6, 2017. We got helped from Jamaica, I believe, but even if we didn't, our duty is to come together as one, and show love to our Jamaican neighbors without delay, please.
If you have nothing uplifting to say especially when people in Jamaica are still searching for loved ones. In one community one person is seeing and smelling dead bodies. How dare you open your mouth to speak with such hate towards another human being in time of disadter. Shut up!
Be ashamed of yourself!