American Airlines' first flight out of Kingston, Jamaica, after Hurricane Melissa ravaged the island, arrived at Miami International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

"It's terrible. They're gonna be out of power for a while, maybe months — some areas maybe years before it's restored," said Lewin Campbell, passenger.

Passenger compares storms across decades

Campbell was visiting family near Kingston when Hurricane Melissa struck.

Campbell says he went through Hurricane Gilbert, also a Category 5 storm, in 1988, but says Melissa was worse.

"There are so many roofs missing it's gonna take years to rebuild," said Campbell.

Birthday trip turns into survival

Jimitra Alexandra was also on board that flight. She and her girlfriends were celebrating a birthday in Montego Bay when they were caught in the storm. She says the conditions were so bad that they all had to hunker down in a bathroom.

"You could feel the winds when she was coming through. I had my bag against the bathroom door, we had mattresses up against the glass doors. You can feel the power. It was terrifying. It was shaking us," said Jimitra Alexander, a passenger.

Grateful to be home, heartbroken to leave

While Alexandra is grateful to be back, she is devastated by all the destruction she leaves behind.

"I think the saddest part is knowing that at some point we were gonna come home. They have to clean that up. They have to pick up their lives and keep going," said Alexandra.