Jamaica reveals power outages and destruction after Hurricane Melissa

The true extent of Hurricane Melissa is still unfolding in Jamaica.

Without electricity or phone coverage, much of the country is cut off and information leaks out.

Three-quarters of the country was without electricity overnight, while the number of injured – or perhaps dead – has not even begun to be counted.

Many parts of Jamaica’s west side are under water, with homes destroyed by strong winds after the hurricane tore through the island with catastrophic force.

As wind and rain swirled through the night, a local official said the destruction resembled “a scene from an apocalypse movie”.

With communications crippled, the true scale of the disaster remains unknown. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area” late on Tuesday, warning of “devastating impacts” and “significant damage” to hospitals, homes and businesses.

Although there have been no confirmed deaths yet, Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon told the BBC his first task at dawn would be “to check that everyone is alive”.

Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in modern history, swept through the country on Tuesday, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

At its peak, the hurricane sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph) – stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and killed 1,392 people.

Stories of devastation are pouring in, with people sharing clips of roads turned into rivers, mudslides on hillsides, roofs torn off buildings and palm trees tossed around like toothpicks.

“It looked like a scene from an apocalypse movie,” a West Jamaica lawmaker told Kingston-based journalist Kimone Francis of The Jamaica Gleaner.

Francis described the night as “stressful” and “tense”, marked by relentless high winds and rain.

“You’re out of touch. You can’t talk to the people you normally talk to,” she told the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme.

In Jamaica’s central parishes, Francis said, floodwaters rose to the roofs of two-story houses.

An anonymous woman told the BBC: “The water is coming through the roof of my house. I’m not well.”

Although there have been no confirmed deaths, Jamaica’s prime minister told CNN he feared “there will be a loss of life.” The damage, he said, was widespread, hitting hospitals, schools, homes and businesses.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said Tuesday afternoon that the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth is “under water” with at least three families stranded in their homes in the Black River community.

“Rescue teams are struggling to reach them because of the dangerous conditions,” he told a news conference.

Verna Genus was sheltering from the storm in her four-bedroom home in the village of Carlisle, St. Elizabeth, when the hurricane tore off the zinc roof of her house.

The 73-year-old vegetable farmer was in the house with her sons and young grandson when the hurricane hit the area.

Verna has lost communication due to downed power lines. But her UK-based sister, June Powell, spoke to the BBC about what happened.

“She was crying on the phone,” June said, adding: “You’re huddled inside and then you look up and then the roof’s gone. I’ve never heard her like that – she was wailing, ‘We’re all set’.”

She is anxiously waiting for communication networks to be restored so she can talk to her sister.

St. Elizabeth, known as the granary of Jamaica, produces much of the island’s produce. With crops submerged and fields destroyed, many farmers will struggle to recover financially.

On the north coast, Montego Bay – the heart of Jamaica’s tourism industry and home to the main airport – will also take time to get back on its feet. This hurricane put a hand on the neck of the Jamaican economy.

The city of Montego was split in two by the flooding, Mayor Vernon said. He told BBC Breakfast: “Once the wind died down, it started to rain very heavily and this led to massive flooding across the city. One side of the city is now cut off from the other due to flooded roads.”

He added that his immediate concern was simple: “Make sure everyone is alive.”

In rural Jamaica, the storm shook people. Tamisha Lee, president of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, said: “Right now what I’m seeing is heavy rain, strong winds, lots of things flying everywhere and uprooted trees. There’s no electricity. I feel anxious and tense. The damage is going to be huge.”

Meteorologists said Hurricane Melissa strengthened at a rare rate, its rapid intensification fueled by unusually warm Caribbean waters – part of a broader trend linked to climate change.

By the time it hit Jamaica, the storm had reached Category 5 strength, with gusts strong enough to tear roofs off concrete houses, uproot trees and snap power poles.

Health officials even issued a crocodile alert, warning that flooding could drive the reptiles into residential areas.

For the thousands of tourists trapped on the island, the storm brought terror and uncertainty.

“I’ve never heard anything like this,” said Pia Chevalier of Cambridge, who traveled to Jamaica with her 15-year-old son on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live from her darkened hotel room, she said: “The window panes and patio doors were vibrating. The doors sounded like they were slamming shut even though they were closed. It was terrible.”

She added: “There’s debris everywhere – palm trees, coconuts, branches, everywhere. Big palm trees with all their roots up. That’s how strong the winds were.”

On the north coast, Wayne Gibson, a British tourist from Kent who was holidaying in Ocho Rios with his wife and two teenage daughters, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that they had taken shelter in a community hall.

Kyle Holmes, from Bolton, who visited Lucea in the north west, described the hotel as a “disaster zone” and said he had no idea when they would be able to get home.

Hurricane Melissa moved toward Cuba early Wednesday morning, leaving Jamaica paralyzed and quiet. Although it has since weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, it remains powerful with winds in excess of 200 km/h (124 mph).

Jamaica has a disaster bond – a kind of insurance for the country – which will hopefully get people back on their feet, but the question is what has been done in the meantime.

Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy