Drone captures images of Hurricane Melissa damage in Jamaica
Drone footage has captured the extent of Hurricane Melissa’s destruction across Jamaica.
Parts of the Caribbean were slowly surveying the massive damage caused by Hurricane Melissa on Thursday, after the storm wreaked havoc on the region and killed dozens of people.
Melissa, one of the most powerful storms on record, crisscrossed the Caribbean and made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a dangerous Category 5 hurricane. By Thursday morning, the storm had weakened and moved through the Bahamas and toward Bermuda.
The National Hurricane Center warned that catastrophic flash flooding and landslides continue to occur in parts of the region. The worst-hit areas included Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, where wind damage and severe flooding destroyed homes and toppled utility poles.
Local authorities began rescue and recovery efforts, but efforts were hampered by widespread power outages, communications failures and road blockages. The death toll is also rising across the region, with more than 30 people killed in the storm in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as authorities continue to assess casualties.
The devastation caused by Melissa has drawn an outpouring of support from around the world, with some countries pledging support in the form of cash, food aid and rescue teams. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the United States has dispatched rescue and response teams to areas affected by the hurricane.
Although Melissa did not directly hit Haiti, the Caribbean’s most populous country, the storm battered the island with several days of rain. On Wednesday, authorities reported at least 25 deaths. The main cause was flooding that caused a river to burst its banks in the coastal town of Petit Goave, about 60 miles west of the capital.
Jean-Bertrand Sobrem, the mayor of Petit Goave, told The Associated Press that dozens of homes were destroyed in the deluge. People were still trapped under rubble in the area, and local authorities were overwhelmed.
In Jamaica, authorities said four bodies had been washed ashore by floodwaters in St. Elizabeth Parish.
“We are saddened to announce that four people, three men and one woman, have been confirmed dead by police in St. Elizabeth. They were discovered after being washed ashore in flood waters caused by the hurricane,” Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, said in a news release.
No deaths were reported in Cuba on Wednesday, but President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the country had been severely affected. Before landfall, authorities reported the storm had already killed three people in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.
Early Thursday morning, Hurricane Melissa, still a Category 2 storm, was retreating from the Bahamas and approaching Bermuda with winds of 165 mph. Little change in strength is expected today, but the storm is likely to weaken by Friday, the Hurricane Center said.
At 5 a.m. ET, Melissa was 905 miles southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 21 mph. It is expected to pass northwest of Bermuda late Thursday into Thursday night, but the hurricane and tropical storm force is extending far from the center and is still expected to reach Bermuda, the hurricane center said.
Humanitarian organizations are mobilizing to provide immediate relief and prepare for long-term post-storm recovery.
You can help with donations and other forms of support to organizations such as American Friends of Jamaica, American Red Cross, Americares, CARE, Global Giving, and the Salvation Army. See the complete list here.
Jamaican authorities have also launched a Support Jamaica website (https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/) where donations can be made. The government also warned that there were “nefarious individuals” collecting funds on behalf of the government, but that only sites ending in .gov.jm were official government sites.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday photographed the damage in St. Elizabeth from above. He also visited Black River Hospital, the diocese’s only public hospital, where footage showed roofs torn off, power lines downed and fields littered with debris.
Hospital staff told the Prime Minister that they spent the night caring for patients by the light of flashlights and worrying about their families.
In Montego Bay, 77-year-old Alfred Hines told Reuters he narrowly escaped flooding by walking barefoot through thick mud and rubble.
“At one stage I saw water on my waist, but after about 10 minutes I saw water on my neck and ran away,” he told Reuters on Wednesday.
“I just want to forget and things will go back to normal.”
The Jamaican government has given “full permission” for recovery efforts to begin, but said emergency shelters will remain open throughout the week as people continue to pour in from destroyed homes. Mr McKenzie said more than 25,000 people were in hospital.
Contributors: N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Samantha Neely, USA TODAY. Reuters
