Iowan living in Jamaica rides out Hurricane Melissa from convent
An Iowa native is describing the hours she spent as Hurricane Melissa — a monster Category 5 storm — tore across Jamaica on Tuesday.
Hannah Hagarty, who grew up in Colfax, moved to Jamaica in 2019 to work with a nonprofit at a convent in Kingston. She says that while she’s experienced tropical storms before, nothing compared to Melissa’s force.
“We lost power about 11:00 this morning,” Hagarty said over a freezing video call. “Lots of rain and heavy wind… we are all boarded up, so I can’t really see outside.”
Hurricane Melissa, the first Category 5 storm ever to make landfall in Jamaica, slammed the island with winds of 185 mph — among the lowest-pressure systems ever recorded in the Atlantic this time of year.
While Kingston was spared a direct hit, heavy rain and dangerous winds battered the capital as emergency crews scrambled to assess the damage. Hagarty said she’s been getting updates from other convents across the island.
“One of our convents completely lost the roof,” she said. “There’s a community called Mandeville — they’re flooded up over roofs. The devastation on the western half of the island is unfathomable.”
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a disaster area, warning that the island’s infrastructure is not built to withstand a storm of this magnitude. Relief efforts are now underway, with the government calling for supplies and donations. Learn how to assist .
Melissa has since weakened to a Category 3 hurricane and is moving toward Cuba, where more than 100,000 people have evacuated.
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