A look at the destruction in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa’s landfall as a Category 5

Geoff Bennett:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

Caribbean islands have suffered terrible devastation in the Hurricane Melissa. The death toll is in flux, but initial estimates show the storm has killed dozens across Haiti and Jamaica.

Amna Nawaz:

Melissa is one of the strongest storms the region has ever seen, leaving widespread destruction in multiple Caribbean nations. The hurricane landed first on Jamaica yesterday as a Category 5 storm.

It was the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica, leaving streets submerged, homes destroyed and 77 percent of the island without power.

Woman:

A lot of my friend's house is gone, nice, nice home.

Amna Nawaz:

In the fishing village of Alligator Pond, residents like Dennis Elliot began to piece back together their lives.

Dennis Elliot , Alligator Pond, Jamaica, Resident: You have got to pick up your tools in your hand, the claw bar and the hammer, the machete, the spade, and move on to the future same way, hoping for never to see a storm like this again.

Alvin English, Spur Tree, Jamaica, Resident:

It was terrible. I witnessed about — I'm 54. And I witnessed about three dangerous storms. This one was worse. It was terrible. The wind, it was violent. It was terrible.

Amna Nawaz:

Despite the devastation, Alvin English says this agricultural area, Jamaica's so-called breadbasket, will survive.

Alvin English:

And we go down, we come back up. We go down, we come back up.

Amna Nawaz:

But Dennis Zulu, United Nations coordinator for the region, warned of long-term consequences.

Dennis Zulu, United Nations Resident Coordinator:

Not only were food crops and fields destroy, but we will also see a possibility, a very likely possibility that Jamaica will have some issues in terms of food security for the coming months. What we're seeing in preliminary assessments is a country that's been devastated to levels never seen before.

Amna Nawaz:

Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the southern coast of Jamaica Tuesday morning. Early Wednesday, the storm hit Cuba as a category 3, weakening to Category 2 as it churned across the island headed to Haiti and Turks and Caicos.

Melissa is expected to reach the Bahamas later today before moving towards Bermuda and into the Atlantic. Before the storm hit Cuba, over 700,000 people took shelter and just a brave few ventured out today to witness the storm for themselves.

Reynaldo Charon, Santiago de Cuba Resident (through translator):

It was hell all night. The winds have been terrible.

Amna Nawaz:

Even as a Category 3 storm, Melissa has wreaked havoc, ripping the roof from Antonio Correoso's home in Santiago de Cuba.

Antonio Correoso, Santiago de Cuba Resident (through translator):

The impact was brutal. First, there was a strange calm. Then, suddenly, it roared like a wild beast. I had to run for cover. There was nothing I could do.

Amna Nawaz:

Haiti was spared a direct hit, but one coastal mayor said people were killed in floods after a river burst its banks. Residents in the already impoverished nation now do their best to stay dry, like Francine Louis Jean.

Francine Louis Jean, Les Cayes, Haiti, Resident (through translator):

I am living with the kids. I have nothing to give them. We wake up in the water. We sleep in the water.

Amna Nawaz:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted online that the U.S. sent supplies, rescue and response teams to the affected areas. But for many in the region, help may come too little and too late.

And to get the latest on the ongoing rescue and relief efforts, we turn now to Brian Bogart. He's the World Food Program country director for Caribbean operations, and he joins us now from Jamaica's capital of Kingston.

Brian, welcome and thank you for being with us.

What can you tell us about what you're seeing on the ground where you are in Kingston and also what you're hearing about the extent of the damage on the rest of the island?

Brian Bogart, World Food Program:

Sure.

I have just seen some of the first images coming through from an aerial survey that has flown over the parish of St. Elizabeth in Southwest Jamaica, where Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 with winds that were exceeding 175 miles per hour.

It looks absolutely devastating. And this is the first imagery that has allowed me to really grasp the extent of the damage — destruction is what I should say. And we have teams on the ground right now who are trying to make contact with these communities, trying to understand what the logistics network looks like and how we can access those communities through roads that are viable, what's being cleared, where bridges may be washed out.

And that's really the ultimate priority, in addition to search-and-rescue, which is which is also taking place simultaneously.

Amna Nawaz:

Brian, Jamaicans and the area have seen hurricanes before, for sure. Is there any way to compare this storm to storms of the past?

Brian Bogart:

Sadly, this area of St. Elizabeth, I was there almost a year ago because Hurricane Beryl, which was a Category 4 storm, hit that same part of the country and devastated it. And this is an area that is a coastal community with lots of people who are fishermen, fisherfolk, and it's also the agricultural heart-bed of the country.

So it's sad to say it's much worse than last year, but last year was extremely damaging to those communities as well. So people will have invested in reconstructing their homes and trying to get back on their feet. And, a year later, an even more devastating system has passed through their communities. It's heartbreaking. And there's no other way to describe it.

Amna Nawaz:

And you just heard a U.N. official in our report there mention there could be long-term consequences when it comes to food instability, and particularly because of the agricultural areas that were hit.

I know WFP had been warning about funding being tight going into these storms. Do you have the resources that you need to see through long-term support for Jamaica and the region?

Brian Bogart:

And I think your point is absolutely valid.

We are very much in need of resources to be able to stand up the immediate response. But in a situation like this, where communities are completely devastated and the agricultural potential of the country is being undermined, we need to have a longer-term perspective on food security, both to meet people's immediate needs for food today, but also to invest in those communities to get them back on their feet and able to produce for the rest of the country really.

Amna Nawaz:

Meanwhile, in terms of immediate needs, we heard Senator — or Secretary Rubio say that the U.S. is sending relief teams. What can you tell us about the coordination between your organization and the American official efforts?

And what else is desperately needed right now on the ground?

Brian Bogart:

I mean, we have always coordinated extremely well with our partners in the government of the United States, and we continue to count on their support and leadership to help us respond to crises like this.

And we're in constant communication. We are enjoying an incredibly close collaboration, and very much look forward to responding to this crisis together. And what's really critical for us now is to be able to move supplies, not only food, but also shelter, water and sanitation equipment, and logistics assets, really, mobile warehousing, forklifts, generators, the kinds of equipment that we need to substitute for existing infrastructure that's been destroyed, so we can actually start support into these communities.

And, really, we're talking about saving lives. And it's absolutely urgent that we're able to do so. So we need transport capability. We are working with aviation sector partners. We're working with private sector partners from the shipping industry and anyone who's able to offer support at this time to deliver lifesaving support to the people of Jamaica.

Amna Nawaz:

All right, that is Brian Bogart of the World Food Program joining us from Kingston, Jamaica, tonight.

Brian, thank you so much. We're sending all our best wishes to you and your team.

Brian Bogart:

Thank you. Thank you very much.