Maryland man keeps tabs on family in Jamaica during Hurricane Melissa
Seeing the devastation caused in Jamaica by Hurricane Melissa is already hard to look at, and the imagery hits even harder when you know your family and friends are in its path.
That's been the case for Seymour Clarke, who's been keeping close contact with his loved ones since the storm started making headlines. Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane.
Tuesday was a long, hard day for Clarke. However, he has hope Jamaica will recover -- as it has in the past.
Watching from afar
By late Tuesday afternoon, Clarke had seen countless videos and pictures of furious winds and massive flooding, all caused by Hurricane Melissa barreling through Jamaica.
"That's home, and when you see so many people are gonna be suffering, that part really hurts. It really hurts," Clarke said.
Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, being one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded -- with winds as fast as 185 mph.
Deaths have been reported in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
Scrolling through that media isn't the only reason Clarke has been glued to his phone. He's also been constantly checking his WhatsApp group chat with his family.
He's also been sneaking calls in when he can.
"I don't have any electricity right now, but it's fine," one family member told Clarke.
Another described some of the damage she saw, saying, "St. Elizabeth is a mess. They're gonna take a lot of time to recover."
Clarke's brothers and sisters, as well as his nieces and nephews, are all in Jamaica. Thankfully, they're OK.
Holding onto hope
As Melissa's damage is surveyed and the death toll is finalized, Clarke said he's going to figure out how he can help his family and everyone else on the island.
But he knows in the end everything will work out.
Clarke was living in Jamaica when Hurricane Gilbert hit in 1988. It was the second-strongest storm on record to make landfall at the time.
He saw Jamaica recover. So, he knows it will recover, again.
"At the end of the day, we're gonna be fine. I'm not losing all hope," Clarke said. "The sun will come out tomorrow."
Maryland resident flew to Jamaica
Maryland resident Shannon Rodgers is in Jamaica after flying with friends for her 40th birthday.
They were staying in Montego Bay, and while there was damage, their resort never lost electricity.
"We live in Maryland, and we don't experience things like this," Rodgers told WJZ. "There was really heavy rain, and there was damage out there."
Rodgers said they flew into Jamaica last Friday, and now, they are waiting to find out when they can return to Maryland.
"We came to town for vacation, but we want to go back home too," Rodgers said. "Emotionally, we are all over the place. We take turns crying, and we talk about our families. Emotionally, we are drained."
