Miami woman, friends stuck in Jamaica after local airport closes due to Hurricane Melissa
As Hurricane Melissa barrels toward Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, residents and tourists are fearing the worst and bracing for impact.
Speaking to 7News on Monday, Miami resident Nicole Doyon said her trip with friends turned into a travel nightmare as the local airports closed, and now they are stuck on the island and ready to brace for whatever comes their way.
“This is what it’s looking like right now,” said Doyon as she showed her social media followers what the outside view looked like.
She said they all travelled to Montego Bay on a yoga retreat and have been unable to fly out.
“I had a flight for Monday booked that got canceled, so we have a flight for Wednesday booked, but we don’t know, we’re all just playing by ear,” she said.
Doyon said it’s been an eye-opening experience seeing how people react around her to the incoming storm.
“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions, especially when like everybody’s kind of panicking, trying to get on a flight, like every man for himself,” she said.
As Melissa, who already has claimed some lives in the Caribbean as well as destroyed homes and uprooted trees near Jamaica, Doyon said the villa she is staying at appears to be ready.
“These are all hurricane secure. They said like everything is super safe, like this house is essentially built for this and we’re really high up,” she said.
But as forecasts call for catastrophic winds and life-threatening rain to the island, Doyon said she’s worried about what’s to come.
“We are scared, and we know it’s gonna be traumatizing, and we have the shelter that they’re gonna show us, so right now we’re just keeping calm,” she said.
She joins millions of other Jamaican residents who are also preparing for what could be the worst storm to ever hit the island.
“I guess we’ll see. I haven’t even checked the weather yet, so I don’t know,” she said.
Doyon said she and her friends will stay at the shelter until it’s safe to fly back home to Miami.
