DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - As residents of Jamaica brace for Hurricane Melissa’s powerful winds, South Florida cities and organizations are getting ready to send support in the form of much-needed food and other necessities.
The Category 5 storm is barreling toward Jamaica after wreaking havoc in Hispaniola. Heavy rain and landslides are sweeping the region, destroying homes, uprooting trees and knocking out power.
The system, which has already claimed at least three lives in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica Tuesday afternoon.
Jamaicans are preparing for the worst, as the storm surge is forecast to reach up to 13 feet.
“I worry about, you know, the Caribbean. This might be the worst one,” said a fisherman.
“I just take things easy. I don’t worry myself. As long as I have food, can eat, that’s the most important thing,” said another resident.
Homes across Jamaica are now boarded up. This past weekend, grocery store shoppers scrambled to grab essential items.
“I was hoping to get some bread; the shelves are empty,” said a shopper.
“There’s still a lot of people who, like, got paid late, so they’re rushing now to get items, food items,” said resident Gabrielle Maurice. “Lots of people really don’t have the financial means to get all that they would need.”
Miami resident Nicole Doyon said her girls trip to Jamaica with her friends has turned into a travel nightmare. Now she’s forced to hunker down.
“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions, especially when, like, everybody’s kind of panicking, trying to get on a flight, like every man for himself,” she said.
While Melissa is expected to be the strongest hurricane to impact Jamaica in more than 35 years, hundreds of miles away in South Florida, help is already on the way.
In Miramar, the city is collecting supplies at all its fire and police stations.
Over at the Global Empowerment Mission’s headquarters in Doral, volunteers spent the past several days filling boxes with necessities, including nonperishable food, hygienic items and water.
“The impact will be so difficult, with persons having to be without the necessary essential items, these family necessity kits will at least help them get through a few days,” said lead volunteer Marlon Hill.
At GEM, at least 5,000 relief boxes will go from its headquarters to those most impacted.
“Right now, our team’s gonna be out there, and then we are prepping to see what’s gonna happen after the impact,” said Billy Richardson, GEM’s Director of U.S. Warehousing. “After the impact, we’ll send some more people over, as well as our first plane load, which should be about 50,000 pounds of aid, followed by about six 640-foot containers by sea.”
Richardson said the supplies will be in the sky and on the way by the middle of the week.
“We have hygiene kits, food, water, laundry detergent, and all these things kind of help people when that first initial response is needed right after the storm,” he said.
Kanniga Anderson, who has his family back in Jamaica, said he’s concerned, but any help will go a long way.
“I don’t really feel good, but they got to take what they get, ’cause it’s a natural thing, right?” he said.
Bob Grant, owner of Hot Off The Grill, a Caribbean restaurant in Pembroke Pines, said he has family on the island and expects Jamaica to be hit hard by the storm.
“This is the first time a Category 5 has hit Jamaica, and there’s a lot of rural places where the infrastructure is not that great,” he said. “We are a praying country, and we pray, my family prays, everyone I know is praying for no loss of life and as least damage as possible.”
Grant’s restaurant highlights the beauty of Jamaica, a beauty that he hopes survives the powerful hurricane. He showed 7News several photos he has taken from the island that are hung on his restaurant’s walls.
“I call this the windows to Jamaica. That’s like Ocho Rios,” he said.
Fire and police stations in the City of Miramar are collecting items like tarps, flashlights and water bottles. If you would like to help, click here.
One volunteer, who did not want to be identified, told 7News said she’s helping those impacted because she’s gone through these storms in the past.
“I am from the Caribbean, and I have gone through a hurricane where I lost everything. It’s life-changing, you never forget,” she said.
In Lauderhill, city officials have launched a relief drive to support Caribbean residents in need. Their drop-off locations for essential supplies are as follows:
- Lauderhill City Hall – 5581 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderhill, FL 33313
- Veterans Park – 7600 NW 50th St., Lauderhill, FL 33351
- John Mullins Park – 2000 NW 55th Ave., Lauderhill, FL 33313
- Westwind Park – 4550 NW 82nd Ave., Lauderhill, FL 33351
- Lauderhill Historical Museum – 1080 NW 47th Ave., Lauderhill, FL 33313
- Joy’s Roti Delight – 1205 NW 40th Ave., Lauderhill, FL 33313
For more information on Melissa donations to GEM, click here. For information on community volunteering at GEM, click here.
Here is a list of the items GEM is collecting.
Nonperishable foods:
- Canned protein/vegetable/fruits/beans
- Snacks like dried fruits, protein bars, crackers, chips and beef jerky
- Cereals
- Ramen
- Meals ready to eat
- Cases of water
Temporary household needs:
- Generators
- Chainsaws/rotary rescue saws
- Tarpaulins/tarps
- Wheelbarrows
- Multi-use yard tools
- Cleanup kits/shovels/rakes/large industrial trash bags
- Bug repellent/mosquito repellent
- Work gloves (new)
- Sleeping bags (new)/military cots/cots (new)
- Air mattresses (new)
- Flashlights
- Batteries – AA/AAA/D
- Portable radios
- First aid kits
- LifeStraw water filters
- Solar-powered lightweight portable lanterns/portable emergency lighting/solar-powered devices
- Power banks (solar power)
- Gas cans for generators – all sizes
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