GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida students who are studying from Jamaica or have families there are struggling to contact their loved ones after Hurricane Melissa brought catastrophic damage to the island last week.
“God forbid, I don't even know if everyone is still alive,” said Risan Ford, a UF Online graduate student who lives in Kingston, the capital and largest city in Jamaica.
Ford said in an interview she was waiting on the all-clear to check on relatives. With roads blocked, she isn’t sure how long that may take. Every day since the hurricane struck, she has listened to reports of bodies being recovered.
Ford, who is studying pharmaceutical science, said her family lives in Westmoreland, the westernmost parish on the island.
Meanwhile, in Gainesville, Shantoy Maxwell, a graduate student studying school psychology, said a former schoolmate said her two siblings survived, but their home, also in Westmoreland, was completely leveled.
“I've been like, trying to reach out, like, just sending messages, has anyone seen or heard from my family or my mom?” Maxwell said.
Maxwell said the storm particularly impacted her 89-year-old grandmother.
“She lost her roof, and she had to run out too, and she cannot really walk very far,” she said.
Zoe Browne, a senior UF undergraduate in Gainesville, said her relatives in St. Elizabeth Parish, near where the hurricane made landfall, are trapped on their farm because a nearby bridge collapsed. Her mother, Sylvia Browne, is in Kingston and described to her daughter what’s happening there.
“Several people have died. Hospitals have been blown away. Two-hundred-year-old cathedrals are gone. It is really, really bad,” Sylvia Browne said in a phone interview.
Ford, the grad student studying in Kingston, said the lack of updates about conditions on the ground is hardest. She has been scouring social media posts for updates from the area where her family lives.
“It somewhat takes a toll on you, because you see the news,” she said. “You hear that they're finding bodies, but they're also telling you the area is inaccessible and you can't go with certain cars.”
Maxwell has also been searching for information online. She said she saw a video of the land surrounding the restaurant her mother owns. “There’s nothing there,” Maxwell said.
Over the weekend, Ford’s family walked miles to find cell reception to call her. They described communities without water, electricity or phone service. The stench of decaying livestock and even human remains hung in the air, she said.
“The roads are so badly damaged that not even a bicycle can get through, and they’re running out of food and basic supplies,” she said.
Ford said two of her relatives are staying with her in Kingston, but more need help.
Maxwell started a GoFundMe to raise money for her family in Jamaica.
Sylvia Browne said aid for the island was arriving at airports, and Kingston was mostly unaffected by the hurricane. The historic town of Black River was wiped out, she said.
“It’s obliterated, so once the citizens can be there, and their needs are taken care of, they'll have to rebuild the entire city from scratch,” she said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday that 28 Floridians were successfully evacuated from Jamaica following the storm. Evacuation efforts by the Division of Emergency Management began Friday, and the rescue flight landed at Tampa International Airport on Saturday.
Direct support can be sent to Jamaica through the official government relief channels.
The University of Florida has more than 5,200 international students.
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