Living through the horror of Hurricane Melissa

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:09Today, living through the horror of Hurricane Melissa.

0:20The wait was agonising. Reports over the weekend warned Jamaicans that a storm was coming and that it would be the strongest and most terrifying since records began. You're making officials telling me they are taking every precaution for what could be a historic event here on the island over the next several days. The weather coming in, I think this one is different. This one's going to impact us hard. How do you prepare for the force of the highest category hurricane there is? God bless us. We are just praying for the less worst to happen. The Caribbean has been battered by storms before. But Hurricane Melissa landed on Jamaica with a power and an intensity that was unprecedented.

1:04As ferocious as it was frightening.

1:19These islands are now under serial threat from catastrophic weather events. The kind of extreme storms that are being turbocharged by the climate crisis. And for the people living there, it's a waking nightmare. We need help. We are woke up without one room less. One room less. We need help, guys. From The Guardian, I'm Nosheen Iqbal. Today in Focus, how will Jamaica recover from the monstrous impact of Melissa?

1:54A little under two weeks ago, a cluster of thunderstorms off the west coast of Africa began to move across the Atlantic. By the time they'd hit Venezuela, it had become a tropical storm. Notice the winds already at 50 miles per hour. Officially named Melissa. Easily surpassed the threshold for a tropical storm, which would have to be winds of 45 miles per hour. And we also don't have a speed... Melissa headed north, picking up speed and power at a frightening pace. By Saturday, with winds spiralling up to 74 miles per hour, the storm had become a full-blown hurricane. On Monday, the picture is clear.

2:35Melissa is Category 5. Her howling winds are whipping at up to 165 miles per hour. Tropical storm Melissa is expected to become a hurricane with life-threatening conditions. The largest threats are to Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba. And storms are also headed for Texas. At a catastrophic event here for Jamaica, it is imperative that if you have friends and family in that area, if you know somebody there, you contact them, make sure they're aware and tracking this, and make sure they know how to protect themselves.

3:09Jamaica, still recovering from Hurricane Beryl last year, braces itself. Everyone on the island is waiting, fearful and anxious. So I'm in St Elizabeth in Jamaica. It's extremely windy. Trees have started to fall. The sky is totally grey. It looks like you're in England to a point. Ava Brown is an author who lives in St Elizabeth. It's a parish on Jamaica's southwestern coast, home to around 150 ,000 people. It's here where the hurricane is first expected to hit land. The wind is not as ferocious as burial was, but it's just started. Earlier today, we had no electricity. The roads are dead. People are battened up.

3:58I mean, my windows are battened up. and it just looks, it feels scary, if that makes sense. It feels really scary. Darren lives near Treasure Beach, also in St Elizabeth. He works in tourism transport. The situation here now in Treasure Beach is that the winds are really picking up. The sea has gotten really high. So it's not looking good here right now. So we're just batting down and hoping for the best. Residents do what they can to prepare. But to Rosalie Hamilton, the disparity between locals is stark. What is evident is that those who can afford to stockpile have done so. Some are able to buy a lot and some are just not able to.

4:41Across Jamaica, that's just the reality. Because remember, it's not just buying food now. People are buying fly boards and things to protect their homes, you know. And so that's another expenditure. And the truth is that for many homes, even those precautionary measures may just not hold up. It will make no difference to a Category 5 storm. Anne-Marie Chamberlain lives in the tiny community of Port Royal. It's further east along the coast and it's situated on a really thin peninsula. Port Royal forms a natural barrier. It protects Jamaica's capital, Kingston, from the worst of the sea's winds.

5:25OK, I'm in for oil. The weather, it's just windy, a lot of breeze. Just a little rain, because right now it's not really raining, it's just drizzling. I went over by the beach and I made a video. All clouds in the sky. Whoa!

5:49Natricia Duncan, The Guardian's Caribbean correspondent, is in Kingston. Like everyone else, she's preparing for Melissa to arrive. On the ground here, lots of trepidation as you could imagine. People are terrified, partly because of the constant updates which indicate that this is going to be life-threatening, that this is going to be unprecedented. that it is going to affect every part of Jamaica and that there's no hiding from it. And there's that feeling that you are just at the mercy of this monster. There's nowhere to hide, there's nowhere to run. Kingston, where I am, at the moment is quite quiet.

6:30We've had balls of rain and, you know, a little bit of wind, but nothing alarming. But they have already started to experience the wrath of Melissa, with trees being dung in one part of St. Elizabeth. A tree fell on an electricity pole and knocked out power for the entire community. So as you can imagine, it's very, very concerning here on the ground. There are communities in St. Elizabeth. They have only just rebuilt their homes. They've only just started to try to move on from burial. and they are in the target zone to be one of the worst affected for this hurricane. Natricia is working. She's calling around for updates, interviewing people where she can and filing news stories.

7:20But she's also a mum and she's trying to calm her daughter. Her niece is also staying with them and she calls it parent mode, trying to keep everyone staying in her apartment safe. My daughter is here and she was very scared and wanted to go back to the UK. But by the time I tried to think about sending her back, all the flights were full because everybody's leaving. So because my daughter is here, it is more concerning for me. I have to be quite honest with her to say we could be in a situation where we have to, you know, evacuate this flat. We have bags packed ready at the door. We even have our shoes, you know, lined up at the door.

8:06If we need to go out, you know, we need to make sure that we have something with food that we can grab. So that sort of preparation, I need her to be prepared. I've experienced hurricanes before. This feels different. The anticipation creates even more anxiety. I have done everything that I think I could do, but I still have some concerns about where I'm staying. No matter where you go right now, there's no hiding place for this. Local officials are advising residents to get to higher ground and to make use of the emergency shelters. In the most flood-prone areas, people face evacuation orders.

8:49This is a flood-prone zone. You are asked to leave. Buses will be provided at 1pm for all members of the community to leave to the Holy Family. It's frightening and difficult. Lots of people don't want to leave. They don't want to abandon their homes and communities. They don't know if they'll be safe, even if they do. The Prime Minister announced that last night on Sunday, that he was given the authorities, the emergency authorities, the permission to remove residents who did not want to go in order to save their lives. I don't know exactly how that would look, but I know that there is a mandatory evacuation order for seven locations which are thought to be the most vulnerable.

9:45Three people are reported to have died in preparation for the hurricane. Residents are told to be cautious if they're cutting down trees or climbing roofs, laying down sandbags to secure their homes. And officials are really worried. Only 1 ,000 people have taken up shelter in the 850 shelters across the island. So we are expecting that persons will come to the shelter. So we are ready. So please don't be afraid. but remember you need to pack your medication. Remember you need to take a little food items with you because we don't have that at the shelter just now.

10:31Treasure Beach is in the eye of the storm where Melissa is expected to fall with full might. Darren isn't leaving. Most persons have refused to leave really. Those that is living actually underwater, Most of those persons has moved inland, still not far from the ocean, but I'm thinking far enough from the ocean. The buses came through last night for people to evacuate. Nobody actually took the bus. But people have to understand, Treasure Beach is a place like this where most of the people down here, they have family that doesn't live too far from the beach. So some, yes, did move on their own.

11:17Anne-Marie in Port Royal says the same. For her, the shelters just aren't an option. There's an evacuation order for my community that was put out last night. But we are not going to bleed, not because we are defying the order, but because we are thinking about our own safety. I have girls, mostly girls, and the shelters are not safe for females. else. I'm going to stay in my house. It's banded down, everything is banded down, the roof is tied down with rope and bricks. So Melissa, I could come go to take off the roof right now.

11:55By nightfall on Monday, there are power outages across the southern coast. Residents are trapped in the dark. As the storm approaches, Prime Minister Andrew Holness calls on God to help Jamaica. He says, I've been on my knees in prayer. So wherever you are, I encourage you to gather your family and pray for protection, for calm and for each other, trusting that God, who has seen Jamaica through every storm, will carry us safely through this one too.

12:41It's just after 6.30 on Tuesday morning and overnight, the wind and the rain really picked up, kept me up. Most of the night didn't get much sleep because of the concern that my flat might be compromised in some way. But luckily, we are safe and songed so far. We are on the milder end of this hurricane, although it hasn't made landfall as yet so we have to wait to see what happens when it does. Hurricane Melissa has been moving slowly which meteorologists explain makes it more dangerous because it intensifies the surge which means more rainfall and flooding and prolonged wind damage. In Port Royal, there's not a lot else Anne-Marie can do but wait.

13:29One, the breeze has kicked up So I'm still anxiously awaiting Melissa. I'm not scared, but I'm just anxious.

13:44It's Tuesday, and nearly a quarter of a million people are without power. Officials say that around 6 ,000 people have now moved to the shelters. I have heard, though I haven't been able to confirm, that there have been widespread flooding in areas, So at the moment, I'm just waiting to try and get in touch with some contacts to see how they're faring and what's happened overnight.

14:18It's one o 'clock. Melissa has finally hit, making landfall at New Hope in Westmoreland, which is the parish next to St. Elizabeth. Winds are raging at 185 miles per hour. 15 ,000 people have made it into the official shelters. Rain and wind is lashing down in biblical proportions. Roofs are being torn off buildings. The force of the storm rips up trees and rocks and has them flying and crashing through the air. So the door just blew open again. Our initial barricade didn't work, so we kind of have it pushed all the way up against the wall, but it's still flexing and we're worried this glass isn't going to make it much longer.

15:045pm. St Elizabeth is reportedly underwater. The force of Melissa drops to Category 4.

15:14Families are stranded in the floodwaters. The roads are submerged and as night falls, there's no way for emergency services to reach them.

15:39Wednesday morning Melissa has moved north to Cuba where hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated Back in Jamaica, Prime Minister Holness has declared the island a disaster area The aftermath of what was Jamaica's strongest storm on record whole neighbourhoods have been destroyed Be careful, be careful As the full extent of Hurricane Melissa comes to light. Around 25 ,000 people are now in shelters. More than three quarters of the island is without power. These pictures were distributed by the Prime Minister's office, along with requests for international assistance to support the recovery effort.

16:21Sections of the international airport in Montego Bay have caved in. Farmland across the island is flooded. St Elizabeth is the breadbasket of the country and that has taken a beating. The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa.

16:43Darren is trying to make sense of what happens now. Down here in Church of East St Elizabeth, surrounded by a lot of water, a lot of damages to the houses. The house I lived in, actually, I lost the ceiling in that roof, so it's not labourable. People are walking the street right now, looking around to see how they can help each other, all the damages that is done to their neighbours and families and friends. But a lot of devastation, Treasure Beach, and I'm sure not only Treasure Beach is going to need a lot of help. Ava, in St Elizabeth, stuck to her promise and stayed home to take shelter. Looking out at the sheer level of destruction, it's overwhelming.

17:28So the hurricane has come. It's gone now, but it's total devastation. I'm in St Elizabeth. I have a lot of pictures and I can tell you that there are houses in the community where I was staying that I've never seen before. And when I stand on my veranda, I can see them now. most of my neighbours roofs are gone crops animals have drowned roads are impossible right now I'm marooned into my community I can't come out to even go to the airport if the airport was open roofs have come off people have died I hear unconfirmed report that one of the hospital is almost unusable it's a disaster

18:09Hi, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. How are you doing? Yeah, I'm doing well. You know, survived the storm. Kingston, where I am based, wasn't as severely affected as we had feared. So that is good. So, I mean, just driving through Kingston this morning, we see that really and truly we were really spared the worst of this terrible storm. Tell me about what you've been seeing as you've been driving through. We've seen areas where trees were dunged. Most buildings are intact. impact. We're still seeing billboards that are still up and that's a sign that we really did not have very severe hurricane impact as some of the other areas which have been completely destroyed.

19:01So what I'm seeing here, I mean, there are people who are out, they're trying to clean up some of the trees. There's a lot of damage to some of the roads as well. But as I said, in comparison to what I know has happened in places like St. Elizabeth and Clarendon, this is, you know, pretty mild in comparison. Latricia, the last we heard from you was on Tuesday morning, and I want to talk through what's happened since then. I was there with my daughter and she was scared. It was scary. She was born in the UK and she'd never experienced hurricanes before. So for me, I was born in Simonson, the Grenadines, and I grew up there until I was in my 20s.

19:42So I know about, you know, I know how bad it could get. What about your surrounding neighborhood? Yeah, so that was one of the challenges I had because the apartment building, it's a big apartment building. I don't know, it has eight, nine floors and about like, I think, 10 or 11 apartments on each floor. I was checking how many people were left there and I was told 15. and you know that was really concerning for me because one of the challenges with my apartment is that instead of a wall facing outward it's it's glass it's a floor-to-ceiling glass and I think a lot of people including myself who are really really concerned about whether or not if things were flying and whether or not a glass could withstand something smashing into it and And also there was concern about the pressure.

20:33If we were in a situation where we were right below the storm and there was really high pressure, that could also compromise the structure of the building. So I think for that reason, there were a lot of people who decided not to stay in that building. I did not sleep, partly because I was worried about whether or not the building would be compromised. It's just impossible to sleep, one, because of the worry, and two, because of the song. It's songs like a howling. And then, of course, we had car alarms going off. And of course, as a mom, you're also in parent mode. You're trying to make sure that, you know, my child and my niece, that they're OK.

21:12It sounds like your adrenaline didn't stop pumping. And so I wonder what it was like when, you know, the sun finally came up. And, you know, did the storm abate at all where you were? Yes, there was some sense of relief. We've survived the worst of it. But what I'm hearing about other people, it's a very difficult process in my head. I also have a friend in St. Elizabeth. She messaged me on Monday night to say that water was coming into her house. Like, I messaged her back and said, I hope it's okay. And then I tried to call her. The call didn't go through. And up to this time, I haven't been able to reach her.

21:53Sorry, it's just very scary and a little bit emotional. because I just hope that she and her family are okay. Natricia, I think it's so easy to forget that, obviously you're a reporter in this situation and you're doing your job, but my God, it is affecting you like it would anyone else. So yeah, I'm really sorry to hear about your friend and obviously I'm hoping it's going to get news soon, but it's a story that I guess that you'll see replicated, right? Like other people are going to be going through this exact same trauma. what's happened to their friends or to relatives across the island. Something did come to me about an elderly couple that was stuck in St Elizabeth and was begging for help.

22:36I did, you know, sort of forward that on to everyone that I think might be able to help. But there were lots of people doing that as well. And that couple, I understand, was rescued and is safe. I think that this is a country that has suffered a tremendous blow. and I think it's going to take some time for everybody to for this country to to bounce back from that and this is just becoming all too familiar like last year I'm Vincentian I'm from St. Vincent the Grenadines we saw what happened almost the entire island I've been to to carry a coup in Grenada where the storm were buried literally like literally just destroyed an entire island you know and as a Caribbean person I love the Caribbean I grew up here this is my home and you know I'm just thinking like what is is it coming to a point where you just say yeah live in the Caribbean because I am telling you as a mom facing those updates that this storm is coming you almost feel like it's almost a claustrophobic thing like you it's like you're trapped and there is this massive giant you know coming to devour you and there's nothing that you You could do that sense of helplessness.

23:50Do I want my children to be living in this kind of zone where there's a threat? It's a threat. It's like, to me, it's like war.

24:10Coming up, Nutricia heads out across the island to report from the worst affected areas.

24:24Nutricia, it's Thursday morning here. How are you doing? Yes, I'm fine. Yesterday was challenging because we were unable to reach our planned destinations because of the fact that there's still a lot of flooding and most of the most affected communities are basically cut off from the rest of Jamaica because of trees that had been uprooted and were just in the middle of the road and landslides and flooding. Spent a lot of time being sort of stuck in long queues, lots of traffic. And yesterday I did speak with the mayor of Black River, which is now sort of being considered ground zero for Hurricane Melissa's impact.