Aid struggles to reach Jamaican towns devastated by hurricane

Five days after Hurricane Melissa hit western Jamaica with record strength, residents in devastated communities along the coast are still desperately waiting for help.

Many of the roads are blocked by debris and people are isolated with little food, no electricity or water, and no idea when normal will return.

At least 28 people have died in Jamaica since the hurricane hit as a category five monster storm with winds of 297 km per hour, the government said on Saturday.

This represents an almost 50% increase in the death toll overnight, and the number could rise in the coming days as authorities push their way into new parts of the island.

Local authority Dr Dayton Campbell told the BBC that 10 of these deaths were in Westmoreland.

The Westmoreland area is believed to have the second highest number of unconfirmed deaths after St Elizabeth in the south-east. The eye of the storm hit somewhere between two neighboring neighborhoods. An estimated 90% of the houses in St Elisabeth were destroyed.

A long road heading west toward Westmoreland Parish winds through a graveyard of trees; Piles of cracked and twisted sticks and branches cover the landscape for miles. This is a brutal testament to the ferocity of Hurricane Melissa; It was the strongest storm to hit a Caribbean island in modern history.

Piles of debris pile up along the neighborhood’s roadsides next to decrepit buildings, shipping crates turned on their sides, and crowds of people making their way through the devastation.

On Saturday morning, men with machetes cut branches as thick as their arms, clearing sections of road where traffic jams had stalled.

A police officer with an automatic weapon strapped to his chest, who was part of a convoy escorting an aid truck heading to Westmoreland, jumped out of his vehicle to direct traffic.

Speaking to the BBC, the police officer described what he saw as “complete destruction” and said, “We do not know what will happen in the future.”

Residents of Whitehouse, a seaside town and commercial center on the edge of Westmoreland County, say the wait for help has become frustrating.

Gary Williams said he heard promises that aid would be delivered, but “they never came back.”

He was sitting on a makeshift stool in the shade in front of a barely standing building – its roof had completely collapsed – unsure of what to do next.

Williams said he lost his home in the storm and had “nowhere to live,” suggesting he could just sleep where he was, on the front porch.

Another woman, who did not want her name to be disclosed, said: “Words cannot describe the situation we are in. It is terrible. I don’t even know what to say. There are so many hopeless, helpless and lifeless people here right now.”

As of Friday, nearly 400,000 people in Jamaica were without power, and many others had no access to cell phones or Wi-Fi, and no connection to the outside world.

Jamaican Minister of Transport Daryl Vaz announced on Saturday that more than 200 StarLink devices have been deployed across the island to help people access the internet.

He addressed the criticism he had received for the government’s response, saying there were “several factors” contributing to the delays.

“Refueling, Landing Areas, Accessibility and Timing/Visibility,” Vaz said on X.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness called for “our immediate focus to be on clearing debris, restoring essential services” as well as providing food and medical supplies.

But this will only solve part of the problem.

In a small community just outside Whitehouse, Robert Morris was resting on a broken concrete slab. In his wake, the fishing village and source of his livelihood that he called home throughout his life has vanished.

“We’re all devastated here, man,” he said. He said the boathouse had been demolished and was now “flat.”

“Melissa, destroy everything,” he said, including the fishing boat, which he described as “crushed.”

Morris also said “no help, no food, no water.”

“We’ll have to try and see what we can do,” he said, adding that his plan is to find someone whose boat is still intact so they can join in and fish.

Even then, he’s not sure where to sell his catch.

People in these regions are full of pride and resilience, which is often repeated on local radio stations and can be seen in their optimism in the most difficult circumstances.

Sitting under the façade of a heavily damaged building, Roy Perry said he had lost everything but “we have to keep the faith and our hope is still alive.”

“I can’t give up. I won’t give up,” he said.

That’s the same tone struck by farmer Oreth Jones, who sits in the bed of his truck selling pears, pumpkins and sweet potatoes, the last of his crops to survive the storm.

He said of his farm: “It’s all ruined. It’s all destroyed.” But he quickly continued: “We should thank God that we are alive.”

Jones escaped injury from the strongest hurricane in Jamaican history by wearing a homemade splint on his right leg due to a fracture he suffered in a bicycle accident before Melissa hit.

When asked how the community would move forward, he said: “Pray. There’s nothing else we can do. There’s nothing else.”

Meanwhile, foreign aid began to arrive in Jamaica.

The U.S. State Department announced the arrival of the Disaster Assistance Response Team on Friday. Countries including the United Kingdom have also pledged millions of dollars in aid funds and emergency supplies.