Hurricane Melissa hits Cuba, bringing 115mph winds and heavy rain, after crossing Jamaica as the strongest storm to hit the country in modern history
It’s currently 01:30 in the morning Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa has passed over the island, but the damage will not begin to become clear until daybreak.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday declared the island a “disaster area”, and warned of “devastating impacts”
“Reports that we have had so far would include damage to hospitals, significant damage to residential property, housing and commercial property as well,” Holness said last night.
The normal soundtrack that accompanies Jamaican life is silent because many people don’t have electricity.
About three-quarters of the island is without power, and many parts of the western side of the island are either under water or have homes destroyed by the strong winds.
We don’t know anything about casualties yet, as one of the main things you need to get up and running during a disaster is telecoms.
The storm has put real pressure on the phone systems, as many telephone polls and cell towers have come down.
The government is trying to put in place a plan to use satellite communication to improve their own communication on the ground. It is going to take physical assessments, helicopters going out, to assess what’s needed.
It is expected that the airport here in Kingston is going to be up and operational to receive relief flights – but Montego Bay, one of the island’s main tourist destinations, is a mess.
Jamaica has a catastrophe bond (a type of insurance for the country), which will hopefully allow people to get back on their feet – but the issue is what’s done in the interim.
The average person here does not have the average safety net that you see in more economically developed countries.
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