TAMPA – As Hurricane Melissa makes its way towards Jamaica, Caribbean Americans living in Tampa are expressing their concerns.
What they’re saying:
David Luckain, the owner of Tampa’s Jamaica Jamaica Island Cuisine, was expected to be back in Tampa by Monday.
Instead, his flight was canceled, so he is in Jamaica preparing to hunker down for the storm as he searches for supplies. “I’m just holding on, bracing for the hurricane to come in,” he said via FaceTime from Jamaica. “I think there’s only one gas station open on the whole North Coast, so the lines are long.”
Luckain’s family lives on the northern coast, across from where the storm will come in. “The flooding in the low-lying areas will be a big concern because the flooding comes from landslides and mudslides,” said Luckain.
Dig deeper:
More than 300,000 Jamaicans live in Florida, including 118 USF students. Andreana Irving’s family is in the path of Hurricane Melissa’s 150-plus mile an hour winds. “(I feel) extremely helpless,” said Irving. “I wish I was there with them right now. I know I wouldn’t be able to do much in Jamaica, but I feel like just being around your family during times like this is just so crucial.”
Like David, Andreana is generally confident her home will be okay, but she is more worried about the long-term impacts. “I feel like in crises, we tend to bond together, and we’ll push through,” said Irving. “We help one another.”
Local perspective:
Andrew Ashmeade will deliver some of that help from Tampa. The owner of the Jerk Hut is collecting supplies to send to his native island. He’s confident Jamaicans are taking warnings seriously, but is worried about their roads and infrastructure. His sister has already lost power.
“The people of the Caribbean are some of the most resilient people,” said Ashmeade. “They’re preparing, but they’re also prepared to start work immediately after this thing passes, to build, to rebuild, to put their lives back to normal.”
The Source: This information came from interviews done by Fox 13’s Evan Axelbank, the Associated Press and FOX wire services.