‘We are praying over here’: Metro Vancouver’s Jamaican community gripped by fear as Hurricane Melissa batters island

As Hurricane Melissa tears through the Caribbean, members of Metro Vancouver’s Jamaican community are anxiously awaiting word from loved ones.

As Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, tears through the Caribbean, members of Metro Vancouver’s Jamaican community are anxiously awaiting word from loved ones back home.

The storm made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane early Tuesday, unleashing catastrophic winds exceeding 280 kilometres per hour, torrential rain, and widespread flooding. The storm has shut down airports, knocked out power, and severed communication lines, impacting hundreds of thousands across the island.

In Surrey, Dafina Lewis managed to connect with her mother in Kingston via FaceTime — a rare moment of relief amid the chaos. However, she’s yet to receive word from other relatives impacted by the storm.

“All we can do is keep praying and hoping that, you know, that light comes back and they’re able to get into contact with us,” she said.

Others, like Viona Champagnie, are still waiting for updates.

“I haven’t gotten through to some of them this morning. That’s my mom and my sister that is living in Saint Catherine,” she said. “I guess probably they have power outage so there is no internet.”

Experts say the storm’s rapid intensification was driven by unusually warm ocean temperatures.

“The really, really warm ocean temperatures and ocean heat content just fueled that storm into a situation where it could rapidly intensify and become a seriously catastrophic situation,” said hurricane scientist Kelly Ryan.

Jamaican officials are calling Melissa the strongest hurricane to strike the island since recordkeeping began more than 170 years ago.

“There is no infrastructure in this region or maybe anywhere in the world, that could withstand a Category 5 hurricane without some level of damage,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Back in Surrey, Phillipa Thompson of the Jamaica Canadian Cultural Association of B.C. is working with others across the country to coordinate relief efforts.

“We are praying over here,” said Thompson, who also has several relatives living in Jamaica. “So, we’re hoping for the best and for it to pass as quickly as possible so we can, you know, move on and pick up the pieces.”

With the storm now moving off Jamaica’s northwest coast, forecasters warn that flash flooding and landslides remain a serious threat through Wednesday.