Fuel pumps are covered in plastic at a gas station ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
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With Jamaica braced for the most powerful hurricane in recorded history to hit, Jamaicans in London are concerned for their loved ones.
Hurricane Melissa is a category 5 storm. It has registered winds over 175mph and is expected to make landfall in Jamaica later today.
Three hurricane-related deaths and 13 injuries have already been reported in the country. The storm has also caused four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
People take shelter in a school ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s forecast arrival in Old Harbour, Jamaica (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
According to the US-based National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Melissa is the most powerful storm of the year, with wind speeds greater than Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
‘What makes it worse is when you cannot get in contact with them’
London is home to the largest diasporic Jamaican population in the world, outside the US, with over 800,000 of Jamaican descent in the capital.
Marsha, a British-Jamaican living in London, spoke to City News about her hometown’s preparations for the hurricane.
She’s worried about her family’s safety: “It brings us closer to our families at the moment as well, you want to reach out to everyone, you want to make sure everyone is safe, you want to help in the way you can.”
Marsha is from St Elizabeth Parish, where Storm Melissa is expected to first make landfall.
“It’s very sad for us here watching and what makes it worse is when you cannot get in contact with them”, she said.
The slow development of the storm has meant that Jamaicans can turn on the electricity in short intervals to contact their families, however Marsha expects that very soon she won’t be able to reach anyone for two or three days.
A man rides a bicycle ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
How are people preparing?
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has warned that “There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a category five.”
“The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge”, he admitted.
A man fortifies a roof ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Dr Holness outlined a plan for humanitarian relief and response to minimise destruction. Local government and national authorities will work together to ensure a fast recovery.
On the ground, Jamaicans are boarding up buildings and prioritising stocking up on water. Once running water stops, they will have to rely on their own stores.
Despite evacuation notices, residents fear losing their homes and livelihoods if they flee.
Men remove a loose section of roof in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix
Marsha’s family has boarded up their house and purchased extra gas and water. Their recovery will be a community effort and may take up to a year.
“People used to wait for the government to send a message around, send some money around”, she said.
“But now they just go around, cut the trees off the road, clean up the road, do what they can do for others.”
HeadlineLondon Jamaican fears for her hometown’s destruction by Hurricane Melissa
Short HeadlineLondon Jamaican's fears over Hurricane Melissa
StandfirstMarsha Jones tells City News that St Elizabeth Parish is where the category 5 storm will first make landfall
With Jamaica braced for the most powerful hurricane in recorded history to hit, Jamaicans in London are concerned for their loved ones.
Hurricane Melissa is a category 5 storm. It has registered winds over 175mph and is expected to make landfall in Jamaica later today.
Three hurricane-related deaths and 13 injuries have already been reported in the country. The storm has also caused four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
People take shelter in a school ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s forecast arrival in Old Harbour, Jamaica (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
According to the US-based National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Melissa is the most powerful storm of the year, with wind speeds greater than Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
‘What makes it worse is when you cannot get in contact with them’
London is home to the largest diasporic Jamaican population in the world, outside the US, with over 800,000 of Jamaican descent in the capital.
Marsha, a British-Jamaican living in London, spoke to City News about her hometown’s preparations for the hurricane.
She’s worried about her family’s safety: “It brings us closer to our families at the moment as well, you want to reach out to everyone, you want to make sure everyone is safe, you want to help in the way you can.”
Marsha is from St Elizabeth Parish, where Storm Melissa is expected to first make landfall.
“It’s very sad for us here watching and what makes it worse is when you cannot get in contact with them”, she said.
The slow development of the storm has meant that Jamaicans can turn on the electricity in short intervals to contact their families, however Marsha expects that very soon she won’t be able to reach anyone for two or three days.
A man rides a bicycle ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
How are people preparing?
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has warned that “There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a category five.”
“The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge”, he admitted.
A man fortifies a roof ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Dr Holness outlined a plan for humanitarian relief and response to minimise destruction. Local government and national authorities will work together to ensure a fast recovery.
On the ground, Jamaicans are boarding up buildings and prioritising stocking up on water. Once running water stops, they will have to rely on their own stores.
Despite evacuation notices, residents fear losing their homes and livelihoods if they flee.
Men remove a loose section of roof in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix
Marsha’s family has boarded up their house and purchased extra gas and water. Their recovery will be a community effort and may take up to a year.
“People used to wait for the government to send a message around, send some money around”, she said.
“But now they just go around, cut the trees off the road, clean up the road, do what they can do for others.”
