Jamaicans are taking stock after hurricane damage, flooding and power cuts

The true position of Hurricane Melissa is revealed in Jamaica.

Without power or phone coverage, most of the country is isolated so information is tricky.

Three-quarters of the country was left without power overnight, and the number of people injured – or perhaps dead – has never been counted.

Much of Jamaica’s western side is under water, and homes have been destroyed by strong winds after the storm ripped through the island.

As wind and rain pounded through the night, one local official said the destruction resembled “a scene from an apocalypse movie.”

With communication disabilities, the true scale of the crisis remains unknown. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island “The Island of Themini”, warning of “serious” impacts and “major damage” to hospitals, homes and businesses.

Although no deaths have been confirmed, Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon told the BBC his first job was to “check to make sure everyone is OK.”

Hurricane Melissa, the strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica in modern history, moved across the country on Tuesday, leaving a trail of devastation.

At its peak, the storm sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph) – stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and killed 1,392 people.

Stories of destruction are coming – people are sharing stories of roads turning into rivers, mud on hillsides, roofs being torn off buildings and stories being thrown like teeth.

In the town of Black River on the south-west coast, police officer Wargell Nicholson was walking into the police station and the locals despite the construction suffered by the storm. “It was devastating,” he told AFP News Agency.

In addition to the beach, Andrew Houston Mocure removed from the comfortable hotel he owns, with his wife and 20-month-old son. At the height of the storm, they barricade themselves inside the shower, which they have braced themselves with pillows and blankets.

“It was a very scary experience, especially for my son. The pressure is so low, you’re struggling to breathe, and it just feels like a freight train is being sent over you,” he told AFP.

The MP in Western Jamaica now says it’s “like an apocalypse movie scenario”, speaking to Kingston-based journalist Kimone Filler.

Francis described the night as “oppressive” and “heavy”, marked by strong winds and rain.

“You have no communication. You can’t talk to the people you used to talk to,” he told the BBC World Service Netsetch Service Newsday programme.

Across the coast of central Jamaica, Francis said, floodwaters rose from the roofs of two-story homes.

An unidentified woman told the BBC: “There’s water coming into the roof of my house. I’m not good.”

While no casualties have been confirmed, Jamaica’s Prime Minister told CNN he feared “there will be loss of life”. The damage was done to hospitals, schools, homes and businesses.

Verna was weathering the storm secretly in her bedroom at her cottage in the village of Carlisle, St Elizabeth, when the storm tore off her roof.

The 73-year-old vegetable farmer was at home with his sons and grandson when the storm made landfall.

Verna lost contact due to power lines being down. But her UK-based sister, June Powell, spoke to the BBC about what happened.

June said: “She was crying on the phone,” June said, adding: “You’re washed inside and you look up and the roof is gone.'”

She is expected to worry about communication networks being restored so she can talk to her sister.

St Elizabeth, known as Jamaica’s Breadbaskett, produces most of the island’s produce. With crops ruined and fields destroyed, many farmers will struggle to recover financially.

On the north coast, Montego Bay – the heart of Jamaica’s tourism industry and home to the main airport – will take time to get back on its feet. This storm has put a hand on the neck of the Jamaican economy.

Montego City was split in two by floodwaters, Mayor Vernon said. He told BBC Breakfast: “As soon as the wind eased, we started getting really heavy rain and that led to massive flooding across the city.”

His immediate concern, he added, was simple: “See if everyone is safe.”

In rural Jamaica, the storm has left people reeling. Tamisha Lee, President of the Jamaican network of rural producers, said: “Now, what I see is a lot of rain, and trees are flying everywhere, and they have a lot of things. No one is worried.

Meteorologists say Hurricane Melissa strengthened at an unprecedented rate, its rapid strengthening attributed to warm Caribbean waters – part of a broader trend linked to climate change.

By the time it hit Jamaica, the storm had reached Category 5 strength, with enough fuel to rip roofs off concrete homes, uproot trees and power poles.

Health authorities even issued a crocodile alert, noting that floods could drive the reptiles into their habitats.

Because thousands of tourists were caught on this island, the storm caused fear and uncertainty.

“I’ve never heard anything like that,” said Pia Chevallier from Cambridge, who was traveling to Jamaica with her 15-year-old son on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live in his dark room, he said: “The glass on the facades and patio areas were all attractive.” Even though they are closed. “

He added: “There is debris everywhere – palm trees, coconuts, branches, everywhere. Big palm trees with all their roots gone.”

On the north coast, Wayne Gibson, a British tourist from Kent Holiday in Ocho Rios with his wife and two daughters, told today’s program of forty and today.

Kyle Holmes from Bolton, visiting Lucea in the North West, described the hotel as a “disaster” and said he had no idea when they would be able to get home.

Hurricane Melissa had moved on to make landfall in Cuba early Wednesday morning, leaving Jamaica paralyzed and silent. Although it has since been downgraded to a Category 3 Hurricane, it remains strong with wind speeds of over 200km/h (124mph).

Jamaica has a disaster – a form of national insurance – that will allow people to allow people to return on foot, but the problem is that this is a temporary transaction.

Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeray

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