Traffic growled like brake lights lying among piles of rubbish. Once mighty trees and downed power lines in the streets have turned into rivers. Entire communities were swept away by winds and floodwaters, according to reports. satellite images.
These are just some of the scenes of destruction Jamaica woke up Thursday morning, 48 hours after Hurricane Melissa. raged through the island nation as the most powerful storm in its history and one of the strongest ever recorded anywhere. United Nations said the damage was at a level “never before seen.”
Cuba is also counting damage after the storm toppled homes and blocked roads after some 735,000 people spent the night in shelters, with the full extent of the damage still unknown.
The monster cyclone had winds of up to 185 mph and killed at least seven people in Jamaica and another 27 in the Caribbean this week.
The storm was approaching the Bahamas and Bermuda on Thursday morning, prompting shelter-in-place orders for both countries. The storm has weakened significantly to 100 mph, making it still a dangerous Category 2 storm capable of causing serious damage.
But for Jamaica and Cuba, the task of helping affected communities and rebuilding begins now.
The urgent humanitarian issue has prompted an immediate response from countries around the world and non-governmental organizations after more than 400,000 people in Jamaica were directly affected.
US State Department said it deployed the Disaster Regional Response Team (DART) to the region, as well as U.S.-based urban search and rescue teams.
However, one former and two current U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday that this response was delayed due to the government shutdown and the elimination of USAID. The DART team would have previously been in Jamaica, but instead missed the opportunity to travel ahead of the hurricane, sources said.
American non-profit organization Project Dynamo is sending more than 3,000 pounds of needed aid to Jamaica on multiple planes, including children for water purification and medical supplies, which it calls Operation Cool Runnings, a reference to the cult 1993 film.
The UN World Food Program plans to deliver 2,000 emergency food parcels from Barbados once flights to Jamaica resume, enough to feed about 6,000 people a week. “This is a terrible tragedy and there is a real sense of urgency here on the ground,” Brian Bogart, WFP Caribbean Director, This was reported by the UN news service.
American Red Cross said on Thursday he was operating ambulances across Jamaica, responding to emergencies at shelters and transporting people to hospitals.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited the hard-hit St. James area on Wednesday and posted videos of houses inundated with water and mud.
“Despite the challenges, the Jamaican spirit serves as a powerful reminder that we are a resilient nation that can overcome adversity,” he said.
UN Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu told a news conference that Jamaica's recovery would take at least several months.
“I don't think there's a soul on this island that wasn't affected by Hurricane Melissa,” he said.
Jamaica accepts donations to its official Hurricane Melissa Relief Fund.
Larissa Gao, Caroline Radnowski And Colin Shealy contributed.
