Following Hurricane Melissa, thousands of British visitors are still stuck in Jamaica amid concerns that crocodiles could be swimming in flooded streets.
As many as 8,000 British citizens are on the Caribbean island, which last night was struck by one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in history that left ‘catastrophic winds’ and ‘flash flooding’ in its path.
Melissa tore through parts of Jamaica with winds of up to 185mph and torrential rain. Heavy floodwaters swept across the region as wind ripped roofs off buildings and boulders plunged into roads, with landslides, fallen trees and multiple power outages reported.
But in the capital, Kingston, officials warned those in the surrounding area to watch out for crocodiles that may be displaced from their natural river habitat due to severe flooding.
In a post on X, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warned that it is an ‘extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation’ and that ‘catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge’ were ongoing in the country.
Mike Brennan, director of the NHC, told BBC News that heavy rainfall and damaging winds will continue to affect the majority of the island overnight on Tuesday and that an additional six to 12 inches of rain was possible.
He added that even after the storm passed over the island, the ‘flooding risk, and just the post-storm environment in Jamaica, is going to be extremely dangerous with widespread trees and power lines down, significant structural damage’ and that it will remain a dangerous environment, particularly in the west and in the mountains, ‘for days, if not weeks to come’.
The Jamaican government previously ordered evacuations from high-risk places, and all the country’s airports are closed, while the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urged British nationals in Jamaica to register their presence through the Government website to obtain updates from the FCDO on the hurricane.
Speaking in the Commons, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: ‘The FCDO stands ready to help British nationals 24/7.
‘We have set up a crisis centre in the Foreign Office, including with support from the (Ministry of Defence), and also we are positioning specialist rapid deployment teams to provide consular assistance to British nationals in the region.
‘Any British nationals who are there should follow our travel advice and the advice of the Jamaican authorities.
‘There are 50,000 dual nationals who live in Jamaica, up to 8,000 British citizens who may be travelling there or may be on holiday there.’
The NHC said those on the island should remain in their shelter overnight and advised that an interior room without windows, where falling trees can also be avoided, was the safest place within a building.
A British man who cut his holiday in Jamaica short and paid £3,500 for last-minute flights home for his family before the airports shut said he felt ‘completely let down’ by the UK Government’s response to the hurricane.
David Rowe, who is from Hertfordshire and spent ten days in Jamaica before flying home on Saturday because of the storm, said of the FCDO’s response: ‘The advice should have been last week, like on the Saturday – don’t travel – because a lot of the travel companies use the FCDO guidance on travel (for) all their planning and what decisions they make as an organisation.’
The IT manager, 47, continued: ‘There should have been something done much sooner than this and a lot of the UK nationals and people on holiday there are stranded.
‘This could have been prevented with better action from the UK Government.’
Kyle Holmes, who is from Bolton and visiting Jamaica for a wedding with his wife and three daughters, told BBC Manchester that his hotel in the town of Lucea now looks like a ‘disaster zone’.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Holmes told the BBC his family are now safe after the ‘worst experience ever’ and barricading the windows of the family’s room with furniture.
According to reports, seven individuals have already died across the Caribbean, including one in the Dominican Republic, three in Jamaica, and three in Haiti.
Briton Shantell Nova Rochester and her Jamaican fiancé Denva Wray told Sky News they were ‘as safe as they can possibly be’ in St Elizabeth.
Mr Wray said: ‘Where we are is quite strong, sturdy, but you can hear a lot of wind. It is a bit scary, but we’ve got each other, so we are strong.’
Web outage monitoring service Netblocks posted on X that connectivity dropped to just 30 per cent of normal levels due to the storm.
The NHC downgraded the storm to a Category 3 just before 6 am UK time on Wednesday, warning it was expected to make landfall in Cuba ‘soon’ as an ‘extremely dangerous major hurricane’.
It had earlier warned that some mountainous regions of Jamaica were predicted to receive up to 30 inches of rain.
In an X post early on Wednesday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez stated that more than 735,000 people across the country had been evacuated.
The Jamaican government stated that it had done all it could to prepare and warned of potentially devastating damage from the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago.
Jamaican-born Ambrosine Townsend, who lives in Kent, said she was waiting for news of family and friends.
‘I’m very confident she’s well prepared,’ Ms Townsend told the BBC about her sister, having endeavoured to persuade her to stay with friends further down the coast.
‘Even though I trust her, I tried to persuade her. Because I know that things can change. But she was adamant that she would be OK.’
Travel company Tui urged its customers to follow the advice of local authorities, while UK travel trade organisation Abta warned British tourists in Jamaica to do the same, as well as to monitor local news and follow advice from their accommodation and travel providers.
On Tuesday night, Ms Cooper urged British nationals to register their presence in Jamaica so consular support could be provided.
‘We stand ready to support Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa hits the island,’ she said in a post on X.
An FCDO spokesperson said: ‘We understand how worrying developments in Jamaica are for British nationals and their families.
‘Our travel advice includes information about hurricane season, which runs from June to November. Last Thursday, we updated our travel advice for Jamaica to include a warning about Tropical Storm Melissa and that it was expected to intensify over the coming days.
‘The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, and that is why we are urging any British nationals in Jamaica to follow the guidance of the local authorities.’
The storm is heading towards Cuba, where it is anticipated to make landfall as a major hurricane early on Wednesday.
To be honest, I think that local Jamaicans who have now lost their homes and jobs are the ones to worry about, but a note to those who want to holiday in Jamaica, don’t go during hurricane season.
It’s shocking and frightening what’s happened in Jamaica, and I do feel extremely sad for the people who live there, but nobody ever mentions the wildlife that would have been destroyed in the floods, and food is going to be extremely scarce now.
I do fear for the Jamaican people who would have lost their homes, livelihoods and possessions. The tourists will soon be flown back home, but the people of Jamaica will have to cope with the aftermath for an extremely long time to come.
It actually doesn’t pay to holiday abroad – too much can go wrong, and what’s wrong with holidaying in the UK? We have some beautiful places that people can visit – it saves on costly flights, plus destroying the ozone layer.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 