Jamaica Holds Its Breath as Hurricane Melissa Nears Landfall, A Look at Final Hours Before Impact 

Jamaica is holding its breath as Hurricane Melissa is fast approaching the island. Long before it made a landfall, the island is already facing impacts and its reach through heavy rainfall, landslides, strong winds and empty streets. Families were seen on Monday rushing through the daylight stocking up their shelves with supplies and securing their homes. Across the coasts, the storm is not a forecast anymore, it is making its presence felt.

Our on-ground reporters have detailed that the country has tighten up to its survival mode. Roads which were crowded in the morning emptied by early afternoon. Supermarkets were full and emptied by the end of the day. Cars were lined up at petrol pumps, while small town shops were shuttered down.

Fishermen on the coastal region of Jamaica have tied down their boats to safety and have left the shores to move to upper regions. Flooding has already begun across the communities with relentless surge. Fisherfolks in the old harbour bay and port royal were also seen rushing last minute trying to haul their boats before the sea swallows them all. Many of them admitted that they will sleep in proximity to the water, not by choice, but because their boats are their livelihood and insurance is a luxury that not all of them could claim.

However, in the uplands or the hills the concerns are different. Their concerns shift from surge to stability and to secure their homes and shelters as strong winds fierce them away. Homemade retaining walls of brick and sheet metal are no match for days of saturation and winds. Residents are tying down debris and have kept an eye on slopes behind their homes.

“When the soil moves, it does not warn you,” one resident in St. Andrew told us remembering past experiences from Gilbert and Dean.

Hurricane shelters have been filling up fast and unevenly across the island. Jamaicans have moved to their relatives in safer spaces residing collectively with their belongings. A resident told us that he could sleep peacefully with his relatives rather than with his belongings exposed in a crowded place.

“I have moved to my relative living above. I don’t trust anyone in the shelters. I would rather live to a relative than exposing my belongings in a crowded place,” the resident told.

While official help is underway with members of Jamaica Constabulary Force helping elders and persons with disability moving to shelters, the relief is not rapidly available in every community where neighbours have come to rescue.

The emotional atmosphere is tightening up in Jamaica as the weather is tightening quickly across the island. For many this is not a storm, it is the resurfacing of every storm that came before it, Gilbert, Dean, Sandy, Beryl.

What makes this night different is not simply the intensity of Hurricane Melissa, but a testing of the government’s swift response during a national emergency as Jamaicans chose trusted the ruling party for a third consecutive term. The Rapid intensification near land has left communities less time to react.

In the hours ahead, we will continue reporting from the ground across multiple parishes documenting how Jamaicans are reacting to the first impact, who is being left most vulnerable and what Jamaica looks like as the Hurricane passes. Meanwhile, our live updates on Hurricane Melissa could be followed here.

This is Jamaica in the final quiet moment before Hurricane Melissa arrives.