At least 19 people have been confirmed dead in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa tore through the island, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said, as rescue operations and aid delivery continue.
The storm, one of the most powerful to strike the Caribbean in years, has also killed at least 30 people in neighbouring Haiti.
“There are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened,” Dixon said, describing the devastation in Jamaica’s western parishes as “unprecedented.”
Power remains cut across much of the island, while residents wade through floodwater and mud, salvaging what little remains of their homes.
Water shortages have worsened the crisis, with many areas left dry for days. Food supplies are dwindling, and frustration is rising among those still waiting for aid.
While Kingston’s main airport has resumed near-normal operations, smaller regional airstrips closer to the worst-hit zones remain only partly functional.
Military trucks and aid convoys are making their way out of the capital, but damaged infrastructure is slowing progress. The normally one-hour journey from Mandeville to Black River now takes eight hours due to wrecked roads and fallen trees.
Reporters travelling through western Jamaica described a landscape of ruin: snapped power lines dangling over streets, debris-strewn towns, and residents patching battered roofs with scraps of zinc.
In Black River, survivor Olivia Cream said she took shelter in a neighbour’s attic as 30-foot waves smashed through her seaside home. “We watched everything come apart around us,” she said. “The sea took everything.”
Authorities have warned that the death toll may rise as rescuers reach previously inaccessible communities. For now, Jamaica is left confronting the staggering aftermath of a storm that has shattered homes, roads and lives.
