ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Melissa is barreling toward Jamaica and is expected to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane.

Millions on the island are getting ready in the final hours before it hits. That includes some trapped tourists FOX 35 spoke with.

What you can do:

Some from Central Florida are stuck in their resorts after all the airports closed. In Central Florida, people in the Jamaican community are banding together to send supplies and money.

Mark’s Jamaican Bar & Grill has organized this online fundraiser, here. 

The Jamaican American Association of Central Florida, Inc. is also taking donations here. 

What they’re saying:

Allison Elliott, her husband and four friends are stuck in a resort. They are studied up on the floor plans of the resort just in case. Elliott also packed a bag of essentials.

“Any medications that we need,” Elliott said about what’s packed inside the bag. “We have a change of clothes. We have a pair of pants each. We have our passports in Ziploc bags. We have water.”

The group of trapped tourists watched the forecast path drift farther west, meaning they’re expected to take a direct hit. “We’ve had to make sure our adult children know how to access our life insurance,” Jessica Pope said. “What to do if you don’t hear from us for days.”

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP

Cheyanne Lapachuk is honeymooning in Jamaica with her husband Ashley. They are from Canada. This is their first hurricane.

“He’s, I think, more nervous than I am,” Lapachuk said of her husband. “I’m kind of the more calm one of the two of us.”

Lapachuk said the locals have helped lower nerves.

“The locals know what they’re doing, and they’re making sure everyone’s safety is their number one priority,” Lapachuk said.

As the island awaits landfall, people in central Florida are lining up to help.

“That’s the beauty about our community,” said Mark Jathan, the owner of Mark’s Jamaican Bar & Grill in Orange County.  “Especially here in Central Florida. The generosity, the love, the kindness, and they share with our culture back home in Jamaica.”

SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35’S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS

Jathan is accepting both supplies and monetary donations, but he encourages cash because it’s quicker. Jamaican American Association of Central Florida, Inc. President Joan Edghill said her organization is only accepting money.

The organization sent a big box of supplies to Jamaica after Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and said it cost thousands to ship and took too long to arrive.

“Pay for it to get there, Edghill said. “Then pay for it to go through customs. Pay. Pay. Pay. No matter how much you give, any contribution will help.”

What’s next:

Landfall in Jamaica is imminent, forecasters said.

The Source: FOX 35 news used weather reports and first-hand interviews to compile the information for this story.

  Florida NewsU.S.