Jamaicans assess their situation following a hurricane that resulted in destruction, flooding, and power outages.

Following Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm to hit the island in recent times, Jamaicans are assessing the extensive damage left in its wake.

With many areas lacking electricity and phone services, large portions of the country are cut off, leading to a slow flow of information.

Authorities were able to report the first fatalities related to the hurricane more than a day after it hit land. Floodwaters in St Elizabeth Parish revealed the bodies of three men and one woman, as stated by local government minister Desmond McKenzie.

In that region, Prime Minister Andrew Holness remarked, “destruction is evident all around.”

He added, “The extent of the damage is significant, but we will expend all our efforts on achieving a robust recovery.”

Recent media reports indicate that three-quarters of the nation remains without electricity.

As we traveled west from the capital Kingston, the destruction appeared minimal – a few buildings damaged, trees scattered on roadways and gardens.

However, upon reaching central Jamaica, the severe impact of the storm became apparent. The town of Mandeville appeared, for lack of a better term, decimated. A gas station had its roof and most of its pumps torn away.

The primary thoroughfare through the town was clogged with debris, foliage clinging to various surfaces while construction materials littered the roadway.

By early Wednesday, the hurricane had impacted Cuba, causing flooding and damage. In Haiti, more than 25 fatalities were reported, with most occurring when a river overflowed in Petit-Goave, according to the local mayor.

At its peak, the hurricane produced winds of up to 298 km/h (185 mph) – surpassing Hurricane Katrina’s winds, which destroyed New Orleans in 2005 and resulted in 1,392 deaths. It has since downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane.

As gusts and rainfall pounded throughout the night, a local Jamaican official described the devastation as resembling “the aftermath of an apocalyptic film.”

Numerous areas on Jamaica’s western side are submerged, with properties demolished by fierce winds as the hurricane swept through the island with devastating intensity.

Videos have circulated showing roads transformed into rivers, landslides in the hills, roofs being torn off buildings, and palm trees swept aside like matches.

In Black River on the south-west coast, police officer Warrell Nicholson took refuge in the damaged police station with local residents. “It’s been catastrophic,” he conveyed to the AFP news agency.

Further along the coast, Andrew Houston Moncure sheltered in his hotel with his wife and 20-month-old son. At the height of the storm, they barricaded themselves in the shower, reinforcing it with pillows and blankets.

“It was terrifying, especially with my son. The air pressure is so low that breathing becomes a struggle, and it sounds like a freight train roaring above you,” he recounted to AFP.

Reports from Jamaica’s central parishes indicated that flooding rose to the roofs of two-storey houses, as stated by Kingston-based journalist Kimone Francis of The Jamaica Gleaner.

Verna Genus, a 73-year-old vegetable farmer, took refuge from the hurricane with her sons and grandchild in her four-bedroom home in Carlisle, St Elizabeth, when the storm tore the zinc roof from her house.

“She was sobbing on the phone,” her sister June, based in the UK, recounted, adding: “You huddle together inside, then look up and find the roof missing. I’ve never heard her like that – she was crying out ‘we’re all done’.”

She is anxiously anticipating the restoration of communication networks to contact her sister.

St Elizabeth, recognized as Jamaica’s agricultural hub, generates a significant portion of the island’s food supply. With crops inundated and fields ruined, many farmers will find it challenging to recover financially.

The Prime Minister of Jamaica remarked to the BBC that in certain areas “complete devastation” was evident and that Black River town had been “entirely destroyed.”

The north coast, particularly Montego Bay – the core of Jamaica’s tourism sector and the location of its primary airport – will also require significant time to regain stability.

According to Mayor Richard Vernon, floodwaters severed Montego city in half. He informed BBC Breakfast, “After the wind calmed, we began experiencing intense rainfall, resulting in severe flooding throughout the city. Flooding has now isolated one section of the city from the other.”

His immediate priority, he noted, was straightforward: “Ensure everyone is safe.”

In rural areas of Jamaica, the storm has left residents rattled. Tamisha Lee, president of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, stated: “Currently, I am witnessing heavy rainfall, strong winds, debris flying everywhere, and uprooted trees. The electricity is down. I feel anxious and on edge. The damage will be immense.”

Meteorologists indicated that Hurricane Melissa intensified at an unprecedented rate, driven by unusually warm Caribbean waters – a phenomenon tied to climate change.

By the time it reached Jamaica, the storm had ascended to Category 5 level, with winds powerful enough to dislodge roofs from solid structures, uproot trees, and break power lines.

Health authorities even issued a crocodile alert, warning that rising waters could lead these reptiles into populated regions.

For the thousands of tourists stranded on the island, the storm brought fear and uncertainty.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Pia Chevallier from Cambridge, who arrived in Jamaica with her 15-year-old son on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live from her pitch-black hotel room, she stated: “The windows and patio door glass were vibrating. Even closed doors sounded like they were being slammed. It was dreadful.”

She added: “Debris is strewn all over – palm trees, coconuts, branches, everywhere. The large palm trees have been uprooted. That’s how fierce the winds have been.”

On the northern coast, Wayne Gibson, a British tourist from Kent holidaying in Ocho Rios with his family, reported to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that they were taking shelter in a communal area.

Kyle Holmes from Bolton, who was visiting Lucea in the north-west, described his hotel as “a disaster zone” and expressed uncertainty about when they would be able to return home.

Jamaica has a catastrophe bond, a form of insurance for the nation, which should assist in recovery efforts, but immediate actions are necessary.

Further reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy