Fort St. John locals ‘devastated’ as they wait for news from family facing Hurricane Melissa

Energeticcity.ca reporter Ed Hitchins, quoted in this article, also contributed to and spearheaded the creation of the piece.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John residents with ties to the Caribbean are feeling shock, despair and uncertainty in the wake of the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall this week.

With winds reaching as high as 297 kilometres per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the then-category five storm touched Jamaica’s western side on Tuesday, October 28th, ripping through regions such as Savanna La Mar and Montego Bay before heading northwest toward the Atlantic Ocean.

The storm made landfall in southern Cuba on Wednesday, October 29th. It has now been downgraded to a category two hurricane, and has also touched parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

CNN reports as many as 30 people are dead from the destruction. Meanwhile, the New York Times said officials in Jamaica could see as many as 50,000 from the island’s population of 2.8 million displaced.

Fort St. John resident Annette Campbell, who moved from Jamaica in 2008, said she is still waiting to hear from family members. 

“I would really like to know,” wrote Campbell to Energeticcity.ca. “I’m devastated right now due to the damage done to my family in Jamaica.”

Meanwhile, another resident – who asked not to be named – has a brother-in-law from the western Jamaican resort town of Negril, saying she had not yet heard about his family’s wellbeing. 

Energeticcity.ca staff also reacted to the storm. Reporter Ed Hitchins has several members of his extended family, including aunts, uncles and cousins, residing in Jamaica.

Hitchins’ family lives on the eastern side in the island’s capital of Kingston and says his family has been relatively spared.

“One cousin said the roads in Kingston are fine,” Hitchins said. “He said only a bit of debris was on some roads and a few branches down.  

“He said, driving around Kingston, you would not know a hurricane passed through Jamaica. Another cousin’s power hasn’t returned, and internet access, he says, is spotty.”

Hurricane Melissa is expected to continue heading north, eventually hitting the coast of Newfoundland on Saturday, November 1st before heading further into the ocean.