Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm Tuesday, bringing mass destruction to the island and then tore through Cuba.
Sannaya Howard, the treasurer with the Caribbean Students’ Association at the University of Central Florida, rode out the storm after traveling to Jamaica for a funeral, and getting stuck in New Kingston.
She said that, unlike evacuations in the U.S., there is no escape on an island.
“Now I'm actually in the country, there's no fleeing, there's no driving up, no, we have to stay and run it out and, actually experience it for what it is,” Howard said. “So that was a little different for all of us.”
Although her immediate family is okay and had only minimal flooding at her Airbnb, she is worried for her uncle in Montego Bay. As of noon Wednesday, she and her family had not heard from him since the storm. They were planning to drive to go find him.
“On top of that, there's really no signal up there, because it's like in a mountain area,” Howard said. “Then the hurricane might have hit up there. So, everyone's kind of worried, kind of panicking, but hopefully everything's okay. Because we just did experience two deaths. That's the reason why we came to Jamaica, and we wouldn't hope for another one.”
Howard said she’s hopeful that people back home in Central Florida, will care and help with relief efforts. Her student association is working on a relief fundraiser.
“I think people in Central Florida should care because it is still a pool of Caribbeans who live in that part of the state,” Howard said. “Anywhere in Florida, actually, it's just a melting pot. I actually only have Caribbean friends. So, it's more closely connected and tied together.”
The Caribbean and Florida Association in Kissimmee, or CAFA, has planned relief efforts with partners for the islands. The president of the association, Andy King, said this isn't the first time they have banded together to send resources overseas.
When a hurricane hit the Bahamas and Haiti back in the early 2000s, King said CAFA and other local organizations spearheaded supply drives to help those in need.
“What we did as a collaborative group was work towards hurricane relief, sending plane loads of supplies and cash down to the islands,” King said. “Each year over the year, that effort has tethered out a bit. You know, it's not as regimented as before.”
Now, decades later, CAFA is again reaching out a hand to those impacted by Hurricane Melissa. A donation drive and community meeting was set for 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The event is at Solid Rock Community Church, 1904 Michigan Ave. in Kissimmee. CAFA, the Alianza Center, Vice Mayor Angela Eady and other local leaders will discuss relief plans.
“Because the roots of many of the people that live among us here in Florida are from those island countries, it's important that we are able to support in any which way we can when disasters strike,” King said. “So, it's not a political thing. It's more economical, it's more a shared heritage kind of thing. Folks from the islands that make Central Florida or Florida their home give back to this.”
