Many Jamaicans in the city are worried about loved ones in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

“I’m not sure what’s going on,” said Earl Fullerton. I’m still trying to reach a couple people.”

What You Need To Know

Many Jamaicans in New York City are worried about loved ones in the wake of Hurricane Melissa

Some have been in touch with loved ones on the island, while others have not been any to get in contact with their family or friends

Some Jamaicans in the city have begun organizing relief efforts, while some elected officials have reached out to the Jamaican government to find out how best they can help

Fullerton runs Complete Home Care Services in the St. Albans neighborhood, where many Jamaicans in Queens live.

He said his grandmother’s house in St Ann was boarded up before Hurricane Melissa touched down. Fullerton said she’s OK, but he hasn’t reached out to his mom in Kingston or his aunt in St. Ann yet due to storm damage.

“There’s a lot of flooding going on,” Fullerton said. “I’m just hearing that they’re OK, but there’s going to be a lot of rebuilding to be done.”

Down the street inside of Juban Deli, Steve Brown said he’s worried about his family in St. Catherine, Jamaica, which is where he is from.

“It’s a bit devastating for them, Brown said. “Most of them are inbound just for safety.”

Brown said his daughter and siblings back home are doing the best they can.

“Flooding, a lack of electricity as well,” he said. “For the most part, the internet is down. So that’s a bit painful, and for most of the neighbors, they’re losing their roofing.”

“We’ve been in touch with family,” state Sen. Leroy Comrie said. “Some depending on where they are, they’ve all lost roofs.”

“Especially in St. Elizabeth and Montego Bay, in [the] Black River area… in other parts of the Island,” Comrie continued. “There’s been a lot of devastation, and a lot of people are being displaced.”

Comrie represents parts of southeast Queens, including Cambria Heights — another Jamaican stronghold.

He is originally from Jamaica and believes the road to recovery will be long in his home country.

“We reached out to the consulate about what they need,” Comrie said. “Right now, they need building materials and construction materials and heavy equipment sent down to Jamaica to help with the rebuilding.”

“I was talking to my uncle in Montego Bay,” Collin Douglas said. “I haven’t heard from anybody else then.”

Over in the Bronx, Douglas, who is also Jamaican and owns the Original Dumpling shop on Baychester Avenue, said he’s helping to organize a food and supply drive for loved ones back home.

“We have people already dropping off stuff,” he said. “They drop it here or bring it to the store. We’re going to order stuff too to get it shipped off as soon as possible.”

Comrie recommends sending monetary donations straight to the government of Jamaica to avoid scams or other issues.

Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management has launched a website specifically for Hurricane Melissa relief, where donations can be made directly to the government.

The Jamaican government has created a preliminary list of needs related to response and recovery for 400,000 people who’ve been impacted on the same website dedicated to Hurricane Melissa relief.