TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica Tuesday. The storm has already been blamed for at least three deaths on the island, according to the Associated Press.
For Tallahassee resident Ramone Anderson, the crisis feels painfully close to home. His grandmother and aunt live directly in the storm’s path.
“It’s very difficult being so far from my family,” Anderson said. “You can send money and you can send prayers, that’s all you can do.”
Anderson said his grandmother has dementia and his aunt is her caretaker. Their home, he added, may not sustain the hurricane.
“My grandmother’s roof isn’t in the greatest shape,” he said. “Right now, they’re just hunkering down with what they have. They don’t have any boards on the windows and they barely have food right now.”
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He said that getting extra water, food, and supplies on top of their daily needs wasn’t possible due to their budget.
Anderson has been communicating with his family through WhatsApp, but worries that worsening conditions could cut off contact through landline or wifi entirely. “There’s going to be a point I’m not going to be able to reach out to them,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty of the storm’s outcome, Anderson says he’s relying on faith to carry him through.
“All I have right now is God,” he said. “You hope that everything is okay, and you pray they are protected.”
Anderson said many in Tallahassee’s Jamaican community are hoping for the safety of loved ones across the Caribbean.
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