Hurricane Melissa has left parts of Jamaica without infrastructure or electricity, going down in history as the most powerful storm on record in the island nation. At least 40 people have died in Jamaica and Haiti as the storm now makes its way to Bermuda.
In the Boston area, many local residents are beginning to hear from family members who are dealing with the aftermath of the storm. They’re eager to help rebuild and support nonprofits doing work in Jamaica.
Sharalee Martin is a Boston resident who was recently in Jamaica, returning home just a day before airports closed. She’s starting to connect with family across the island.
“They said that they were OK. Some of them have lost the roof of their house,” she said of relatives who live in the St. Catherine Parish. Martin said other immediate family members are in St. Mary, an area where there was more minor damage.
And Martin hasn’t heard from family in the hard-hit area of St. Elizabeth Parish, where online videos show the area’s buildings flattened and roads flooded.
“They basically lost everything, and there’s limited communication on that part of the island,” she said.
Martin said family has told her transportation is limited in Jamaica, with roads blocked off by trees, rocks and debris.
“A lot of people have to walk to places right now,” she said. She recalled Hurricane Beryl last year and said some family members didn’t have electricity for more than three weeks after.
Leonie Barnes of Milton has many extended family members living in the South Manchester area of Jamaica, which she describes as very rural. When she last spoke to family on Sunday, power was already going out. One friend messaged from the area today.
“All she said was, ‘Thank God, we’re OK.’ It was very brief,” Barnes said. Many of the roofs in her family’s parish are made of zinc, which she said is not hurricane-durable.
The crops on her family’s farms haven’t yet been harvested, she said — but from past experiences with hurricanes and the photos she’s seeing from friends on WhatsApp, she doubts they’re salvageable.
“Photos of the banana trees all toppled over, all the fruits from the trees, everything is now on the ground. Nothing is standing anymore,” she said.
Barnes’ own family grows sweet potatoes, vegetables, bananas, citrus, papaya and other crops for their income. “They live off the land,” she said.
She is hoping to travel down to help rebuild, potentially with her adult daughters.
“Giving is good, but going if we can, to help, to have some labor on hand, then that’s what we’re thinking of putting in place,” Barnes said.
Her daughters Tamika and Shauna live in other states and financially sponsor the Boscobel Primary and Infant School in St. Mary Parish with their parents. They’ve been in touch with the principal there, who said the space was used as a shelter and sustained damage.
The Barnes family is also supporting nonprofit organization Mustard Seed Communities, an international Christian nonprofit. The group runs 11 homes throughout Jamaica and has 550 children and adults with disabilities in their care.
“We have minor damage to most of our homes,” said Betsy Fountain, executive director of the U.S. portion of the organization. “Everyone, all of our residents, and some of our staff rode out the storm at our homes, and they said that the wind and the rain was just extreme and terrifying. But thankfully, everyone that we’ve heard from has been safe.”
She said they’ve heard from all of the homes except for one in Montego Bay. Most of the homes have leaking roofs, downed trees nearby and no electricity. Some have no water.
“It’s critical that we get that back as soon as possible,” she said. They’re raising money to repair roofs and buy generators for the future.
Groups like the Peter Tosh Foundation and Jamaican Association of Massachusetts are also fundraising to send money to local supplies and nonprofits in Jamaica. Those donations will help provide clean water and food to families, help elders in rural communities and assist emergency teams in responding quickly, according to the Tosh Foundation’s website.
Local elected leaders with ties to Jamaica are also concerned — like Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell, one of whose parents immigrated from Jamaica.
“Our hearts are with Jamaica as communities rebuild after Hurricane Melissa. To everyone impacted, we stand with you,” Worrell wrote on Instagram.
