Hurricane Melissa Death Toll in Jamaica Rises to 28 as Recovery Drags On

The number of people killed in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa, a powerful category five storm has risen to 28, with the death toll expected to rise according to Prime Minister, Andrew Holness. He confirmed nine other deaths on Saturday, adding that there were reports of possible fatalities still being verified.

 Ranar Dally of St. James Parish told Love News in an interview that the clean-up in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa has been slow.

Ranar Dally : “No new progress. Well, I haven’t seen any of the heal that we are supposed to get to help to fix house and stuff. People are still in the shelter. Most of the aid is going to Westmoreland to west side. So we are still here waiting to get assistance from the government.”

Reporter: Is there any clean up efforts in your area at this time? 

Ranar Dally :“Apart from us the residents, no. What we basically cleared roads and tried to go in the town and stuff, getting gas is one of the biggest challenges here to move around and operate generators and to have electricity. I haven’t seen anything yet from JPS this side, the Jamaica Police Service so we’re still not sure when we’re getting back electricity. Still no phone signals or anything like that. So I’m still using my home with the Starlink as a hub to let people to reach out to their family overseas and stuff like that to know that they’re okay.”

Emergency responders and aid agencies have struggled to reach certain parts of the island in the aftermath of the storm due to blocked roads, debris, and flooding.

The category five hurricane – the strongest type – has caused dozens of deaths across the Caribbean, bringing powerful winds and landslides to Cuba and Haiti.