SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A University Heights woman says she has barely slept for four nights as she waits for updates from her family in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastated the island.
Jaime Harris has about 80 family members living in Jamaica, including her mother and aunt in Mandeville, in the southern part of the island. Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
"To see such devastation, it breaks my heart, and I know that there are some people who may never recover from this," Harris said.
Harris received video from a friend in Mandeville showing the hurricane's powerful winds peeling the roof off a home as the storm hit.
"Knowing that there are families in there that are scared, and you can't go anywhere, it's terrifying," Harris said.
Her mother, who Harris says is typically accustomed to hurricanes, was completely frightened by Melissa's intensity.
"She said she was completely scared. She said she couldn't hear, she couldn't see anything outside but the doors, the windows were rattling," Harris said.
Video sent by her mother shows extensive damage throughout one neighborhood in Mandeville. Harris says her mother's, aunt's, and uncle's homes were heavily flooded with damaged roofs. This comes after some of her family's homes were damaged by Hurricane Beryl in 2024.
"It's been eight months since they recovered, and then this happened," Harris said.
Despite the widespread destruction, Harris has confirmed that all of her family members are safe.
"I am eternally grateful because of the magnitude of Melissa," Harris said.
Harris says she has only received sporadic messages from her mother through WhatsApp, as power has been out for the last five days across much of the island.
"I just told her all I want for her is to be safe. We can rebuild. That's what Jamaica is known for. We always say we're little but we ‘tallawah,’ meaning we come together and achieve so much," Harris said.
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