Keitho Nembhard, a hotelier on the Grand Palladium Hotel in Lucea, Jamaica, mentioned that Hurricane Melissa left the island’s northwest tip in ruins.
“The devastation around is significant,” Nembhard informed NCS. “Lots of downed trees, lots of debris, damage to properties, lots of roofs have blown off.”
Numerous workers members are nonetheless unable to contact kin or make it dwelling because of downed communication traces and blocked roads, Nembhard added.
On Tuesday evening, the hotelier sheltered in place on the Grand Palladium with different staff and round 700 company.
“It was horrible,” Nembhard mentioned. “It was very frightening. You could see massive waves, coming ashore, high as between 13 to 15 feet. Lots of water falling around us. But what we saw during that was our team members and our management team stood firm, trying to ensure some level of safety and security for everyone involved as we hunkered down and supported each other.”
Today, residents and vacationers alike are busy serving to others in Melissa’s aftermath, Nembhard mentioned.
“What I’m seeing currently is a resilient set of people, a lot of Jamaicans are out, assisting each other to rebuild the day after the storm,” he mentioned. “We are already rebuilding. We’re putting over Bob Marley music. We’re trying to work best to get through to our relatives and friends, and at the same time, we are holding together.”