博客

Montego Bay, St James — Communities in Catherine Hall and Westgreen faced a daunting cleanup effort on Wednesday after Hurricane Melissa unleashed torrential rains and fierce winds on Tuesday. The storm caused the Barnett and Pye rivers to overflow, inundating homes with mud and water. Residents recounted harrowing experiences as they grappled with the aftermath.

Devon, a Catherine Hall resident, described the terrifying moment when floodwaters engulfed his home. ‘Everything was flooded,’ he lamented, noting that he narrowly escaped by climbing to an upper floor. The floodwaters, which rose higher than a person’s height, destroyed furniture and belongings before receding on Wednesday.

Another resident, who chose to remain anonymous, estimated that over 800 properties in Catherine Hall and Westgreen were affected. The cleanup process was further complicated by a lack of water, forcing residents to rely on a single pipe to wash mud from their homes and belongings.

The hurricane’s impact extended beyond residential areas. Vehicles were displaced by the floodwaters, with one car lodged against another and a trailer stuck against a median. The National Water Commission’s Bevin Avenue facility also suffered damage, as did the walls of the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, MegaMart complex, and Grand Depot Supermarket.

Herbert Morrison Technical High School, a 49-year-old institution, was not spared. Sections of its roof were torn off, and a nearby road was compromised. Utility poles along Alice Eldemire Drive were downed, adding to the widespread destruction.

As residents worked tirelessly to restore their homes and lives, the scale of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation became increasingly apparent. The storm’s aftermath highlighted the urgent need for resources and support to aid recovery efforts in Montego Bay.

In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastating passage through Jamaica, communication systems collapsed, leaving countless families isolated and desperate for news of their loved ones. On Wednesday, Jamaicans from across the island, including some from as far as Kingston, flocked to St Elizabeth in a determined effort to locate their relatives and assess the damage to their properties. The journey was fraught with challenges, as downed trees and power lines turned what should have been a 15-minute drive into a grueling five-hour ordeal. Among the travelers was an amputee known as ‘One Foot Carl,’ who, armed with a power saw and gasoline, joined a slow-moving caravan of vehicles to help clear the roads. Supported by his crutches, Carl worked alongside Jamaica Defence Force soldiers to remove blockades, demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of adversity. Another traveler, Jerome Steadman, made light of the situation, joking about his sister sharing the hurricane’s name. Despite a flat tire, Steadman remained undeterred in his mission to check on his home in Kingston, which he feared had been flattened by the storm. Stefan Wisdom, traveling with his infant son and Steadman, was also on a mission to salvage what remained of his house, which a friend had reported as destroyed. In Lacovia, residents recounted their harrowing experiences of battling the hurricane to preserve their lives and property. Mario White, who sheltered behind a single sheet of zinc for three hours, described how the storm forced him to retreat with his TV and medication as everything around him began to lift off. Omar Perry, another Lacovia resident, fought tirelessly to keep his front door from blowing off, only to find his partner’s shop flattened and carried across the road by the storm. Despite his exhaustion, Perry was determined to rebuild his roof to provide shelter for his family. Shantalea Kerr and her brother Shawn, who had evacuated their home fearing the storm’s strength, returned to find their family house leaning to the side, its roof gone. Shawn, who had sought refuge in a car during the storm, recounted how the wind had flipped open the car’s bonnet, cracking the windscreen. Despite the overwhelming destruction, the residents of St Elizabeth remained resolute, refusing to abandon their journey to access other affected areas like Holland Bamboo and Black River. Their determination and resilience in the face of such devastation serve as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Jamaican people.

The aftermath of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has left several communities in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, in a state of despair, with residents marooned and first responders struggling to access the hardest-hit areas. The storm, which struck on Tuesday, has caused widespread destruction, leaving roads impassable, homes destroyed, and communication lines severed.

Residents of Portland Cottage, Jamaica, are voicing their frustration over what they perceive as systemic neglect in disaster relief efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. Many of these individuals, already living in dire poverty, claim they have yet to receive any assistance from previous hurricanes, including Hurricane Beryl in July. Despite registering for aid and providing necessary documentation, they say their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Dennis Baju, a resident of Dry Hill, lamented, ‘No help, no help, none a di storm dem weh blow. This a go meck the seventh storm and wi don’t get no help.’ His 87-year-old mother, Gloria, who was forced to relocate her small business into her one-bedroom home after Beryl destroyed her shop’s roof, accused political players of discrimination. ‘Is victimisation. When them come fi give food is down dah way deh it go,’ she said. Similar grievances were echoed by other residents, including Neville Gayle, whose home was severely damaged by Melissa. ‘Mi woulda like some zinc fi meck up back mi bathroom and di roof,’ he said while attempting to clean his muddied, decrepit structure. The community’s frustration is compounded by the perception that relief efforts are politicized, with aid allegedly directed toward certain areas or individuals based on political affiliations. ‘Dem [disaster relief personnel] nah go come yah now, dem specialise inna politics,’ one young woman remarked. Despite the hardships, some residents remain resilient, expressing gratitude for their survival. ‘Mi glad mi alive and mi family an mi grandpickney dem alive,’ one woman said. As the community begins the arduous task of rebuilding, the calls for equitable and timely assistance grow louder, with many urging authorities to address the systemic issues plaguing disaster relief distribution.