ST. ANN, Jamaica (FN) \u2014 Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of destruction across Jamaica\u2019s north coast, displacing families, toppling trees, and plunging entire communities into darkness. In the hard-hit parish of St. Ann, residents awoke to find roofs torn off and streets blocked by debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The storm made landfall Tuesday evening with sustained winds of 185 miles (nearly 300 kilometers) per hour, tying the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane as one of the most intense ever recorded. Torrential rains and violent gusts battered coastal towns, overwhelming infrastructure and flooding low-lying areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
George \u201cLarry\u201d Brown, a 68-year-old fisherman from the Priory community, said the day began with light rain but quickly escalated. \u201cBy five o\u2019clock, the wind just started howling. Then I heard a sound, and the roof was gone,\u201d he said. \u201cGilbert is no match to this,\u201d he added, referencing the infamous 1988 hurricane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown\u2019s neighbor, Kayan Davis, a mother of three, said her roof was lifted off around 11 p.m. \u201cI have nowhere to sleep,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m going to have to contact the authorities.\u201d Like many others, Davis is now seeking temporary shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marvin Thomas, a janitorial worker, narrowly escaped injury when a tree crashed onto his home around 8 p.m. \u201cThe tree dropped, and the housetop started to demolish,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to run out and go to a friend\u2019s place.\u201d Thomas said the financial burden of rebuilding is overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emergency crews and residents have begun clearing blocked roads to allow aid and supplies to reach affected areas. \u201cWe noticed quite a few trees down on the main road,\u201d said one local volunteer. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep it clear so help can come through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the town of Bog Walk, south of St. Ann, bar owner Maureen Samuels narrowly avoided disaster when a large tree fell just inches from her business. \u201cThanks be to God the bar wasn\u2019t damaged,\u201d she said. However, she noted that others weren\u2019t as fortunate. The nearby Rio Cobre overflowed, damaging homes and a local hog farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government officials have yet to release a full damage assessment, but early reports indicate widespread structural losses and power outages across multiple parishes. Relief agencies are mobilizing to provide food, water, and temporary housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jamaica\u2019s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) urged residents to remain cautious and avoid flooded areas. \u201cWe are working with local authorities to assess needs and coordinate relief,\u201d an ODPEM spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the island begins the long road to recovery, many residents are left grappling with uncertainty. \u201cWe\u2019ve lost everything,\u201d said Davis. \u201cBut we\u2019re alive. That\u2019s what matters now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. ANN, Jamaica (FN) \u2014 Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of destruction across Jamaica\u2019s north coast, displacing families, toppling trees, and plunging entire communities into darkness. In the hard-hit parish of St. Ann, residents awoke to find roofs torn off and streets blocked by debris. The storm made landfall Tuesday evening with sustained winds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Jamaicans-face-homelessness-after-melissa-hurricane.webp?fit=2048%2C1366&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22808"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22818,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22808\/revisions\/22818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}