Struggles Intensify in Hurricane-Hit Jamaica: Residents Desperate for Aid

Tue Nov 04 2025 00:13:26 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Residents of several towns in Jamaica are facing dire conditions five days after Hurricane Melissa devastated the region, leaving them without food, water, or assistance. The death toll continues to rise amid blocked roads and isolation.

As recovery efforts are hampered by debris and blocked roads, residents in hurricane-stricken Jamaican towns express desperation for aid and support. Following Hurricane Melissa's destructive impact, local communities are struggling with food shortages, loss of homes, and a growing death toll. The government and international organizations are beginning to mobilize resources, but for many, help still feels far away.

Five days after Hurricane Melissa pummelled into western Jamaica with record force, 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 power or running water, and no idea of when normalcy will return.

The government said on Saturday that at least 28 people in Jamaica have died since the hurricane hit as a monster category five storm with 185 mph (297km/h) sustained winds.

That is a near 50% jump in the death toll overnight, and the number could rise as officials clear their way into new parts of the island in the coming days.

Local official Dr. Dayton Campbell told the BBC that 10 of those deaths were in Westmoreland, a parish that is believed to have the second highest number of unconfirmed fatalities, trailing only St Elizabeth, which lies to the south-east.

The eye of the storm made landfall between the two neighboring parishes, and in St Elizabeth, an estimated 90% of homes have been destroyed.

A long stretch of road headed west into Westmoreland Parish winds through a graveyard of trees – stacks of branches and limbs, cracked and twisted, blanketing the landscape for miles. It is grim evidence of Hurricane Melissa's ferocity - it was the strongest storm to strike the Caribbean island in modern history. Piles of debris are heaped on the parish's roadsides, next to battered buildings.

Westmoreland residents such as Gary Williams express frustration as they wait for assistance. Williams, having lost his house and with nowhere to live, awaits aid that has yet to arrive.

Local farmer Oreth Jones, despite his extensive losses, maintains a resilient spirit, stating, We have to give God thanks we're alive. He shares that he has started selling what little harvest survived the storm to provide for himself.

Meanwhile, the Jamaican government, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, has vowed to focus on clearing debris and restoring essential services, albeit acknowledging the ongoing challenges faced.

International aid is beginning to trickle in, with the US State Department sending a Disaster Assistance Response Team, and various nations pledging support to help the affected population rebuild their lives.