Chicago woman stranded in Jamaica describes impact after Hurricane Melissa made landfall
A Chicago woman who is stranded in Jamaica is sharing her experience after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday.
She, along with a Jamaican native, detailed the destruction left behind from the storm, carrying intense wind speeds.
"In the past 30 minutes, it's been probably picking up at least 50 miles per hour every hour."
Melissa Quinones, from Chicago, traveled to Montego Bay, Jamaica, last Thursday for a friend's birthday celebration. She was supposed to leave on Monday, but those plans were quickly canceled.
She said it's windy like Chicago, but ten times worse than what it is, with the noise making it more terrifying.
"It's very scary. It's scary to see it and actually be in it, but we're going to be ok."
Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, packing 185 miles per hour sustained winds.
Dr. Levonne Taylor is in Kingston, Jamaica. Her cell phone connection was spotty due to the storm. She said she has been without power since 6 a.m.
"Right now, I don't even have power because once the storm … power supply company automatically disconnects simply because of safety," Dr. Taylor said.
Taylor has been in contact with the Caribbean American Family Network president, Hasana Sisco, an organization based out of North Aurora that works with the Caribbean American community. Sisco's 91-year-old mother is just outside of Kingston.
"We talk to them. We've been trying to talk to them every two to three hours, but if I'm honest, I have not spoken to them for four hours because the connection is not going through," Sisco said.
For Quinones, this storm has her reconsidering which season to book her next vacation.
"We always travel during the hurricane season, and I'll tell you this much, we are really reconsidering traveling in the hurricane season," she said.