According to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency, at least 20 deaths were reported, with 10 victims being children alone. More than 160 homes were damaged and 80 more completely destroyed
A resident of the town of El Cobre, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, observes the damage caused to her home after the passage of Hurricane Melissa. PIC/AFP
People across the northern Caribbean struggled to recover from the massive destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa, as the death toll from the catastrophic storm continued to rise.
In southeast Jamaica, the rumble of heavy machinery, the buzz of chainsaws and the chopping of machetes filled the air as government workers and residents joined hands to clear blocked roads and reach out to cut-off communities that had taken a direct hit from one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded.
Stunned residents wandered about, gazing helplessly at their roofless homes and waterlogged belongings scattered across the streets.
“I don’t have a house now,” said sanitation worker distraught Sylvester Guthrie, who is from Lacovia in the southern parish of St Elizabeth.
His only possession of value left is a bicycle.
“I have land in another location that I can build back, but I am going to need help,” he pleaded.
Emergency relief flights began arriving at Jamaica’s main international airport, which reopened late on Wednesday, bringing in water, food and other essential supplies, news agency AP reported.
“The devastation is enormous,” said Jamaican Minister for Transport Daryl Vaz.
Some residents expressed uncertainty about their future.
“I am now homeless, but I have to be hopeful because I have life,” said Sheryl Smith, whose house lost its roof in the storm.
Authorities confirmed at least four deaths in southwest Jamaica. Prime Minister Andrew Holness reported that up to 90 per cent of roofs in the coastal town of Black River were destroyed.
“Black River is what you would describe as ground zero,” he said, adding, “The people are still coming to grips with the destruction.”
More than 25,000 people were still in shelters across western Jamaica, and around 77 per cent of the island remained without electricity, AP reported.
Death and flooding in Haiti
Melissa also triggered devastating flooding in Haiti, killing at least 25 people and leaving 18 missing, mostly in the country’s southern region, AP reported.
Steven Guadard from Petit-Goâve said the hurricane wiped out his entire family.
“I had four children at home: a 1-month-old baby, a 7-year-old, an 8-year-old and another who was about to turn 4,” he said.
According to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency, at least 20 deaths were reported, with 10 children dying in Petit-Goâve alone. More than 160 homes were damaged and 80 more completely destroyed.
Officials reported that 152 disabled people in southern Haiti were in urgent need of food assistance, while over 11,600 people remained in shelters.
“It is a sad moment for the country,” said Laurent Saint-Cyr, president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council. He warned that the death toll could rise further and said the government was mobilising all available resources to continue rescue efforts and provide emergency aid.
Slow recovery in Cuba
In Cuba, recovery operations were also underway as residents began clearing blocked roads and highways with the help of heavy equipment and military personnel, who rescued people trapped in isolated areas threatened by landslides.
Thanks to large-scale evacuations of over 735,000 people across eastern Cuba by the Civil Defence authorities, no fatalities were reported. Evacuees were slowly returning to their homes.
The historic town of El Cobre in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, home to about 7,000 residents and the famous Basilica of Our Lady of Charity — the patron saint of Cuba — was among the hardest hit.
“We went through this very badly. So much wind, so much wind. Zinc roofs were torn off, and some houses completely collapsed. It was a disaster,” said Odalys Ojeda, a 61-year-old retiree, standing in her living room under the open sky.
Even the revered Basilica was damaged. “Here at the sanctuary, the carpentry, stained glass and even the masonry suffered extensive damage,” said Father Rogelio Dean Puerta. “The town was also badly affected. Many people lost their homes and belongings. We need help.”
In rural communities around Santiago de Cuba, water remained pooled inside vulnerable homes late Wednesday as residents returned from shelters to salvage what they could — beds, mattresses, chairs, tables and fans that they had raised off the floor before the storm hit.
At a televised Civil Defence meeting chaired by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, officials from affected provinces — Santiago, Granma, Holguín, Guantánamo and Las Tunas — reported widespread loss of roofs, power lines, fibre optic cables, destroyed roads, isolated villages, and extensive damage to banana, cassava and coffee crops.
Officials noted, however, that the heavy rainfall had benefited reservoirs and helped relieve a severe drought in eastern Cuba. Many communities remained without electricity, internet and telephone service due to damaged transformers and downed power lines.
A historic storm
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph), tying records for both wind speed and low pressure in Atlantic hurricane history. It struck eastern Cuba early Wednesday as a still-powerful Category 3 storm.
By Thursday, a hurricane warning remained in effect for Bermuda, while the warning for the central and southeastern Bahamas had been lifted. However, the US National Hurricane Centre cautioned that additional rainfall of up to 10 inches (254 mm) was still possible.
At that time, Melissa had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with top winds of around 105 mph (169 kph), moving north-northeast at 21 mph (33 kph). The hurricane was centred about 475 kilometres northeast of the central Bahamas and 974 kilometres southwest of Bermuda.
Melissa was expected to pass near or just west of Bermuda late Thursday and could strengthen slightly before weakening on Friday.
(With AP inputs)
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