Some hospitals on the south coast of Jamaica have had their roofs torn off, former Jamaican senator Imani Duncan-Price tells BBC News.
“We have some solid structures, but some structures, because we are a developing country, are not as sturdy.”
A hospital in Saint Elizabeth, Duncan-Price says, had to move some patients up to higher floors because of previous damage the structure had sustained in Hurricane Beryl last year.
The winds have been so strong in some parts of the country that “no structure” could withstand them, she says.
In Mandeville, for example, water has risen up to the roofs of houses, Duncan-Price says.
“People are trying to rescue people in the middle of the storm just to save lives.”
Shortly before Melissa made landfall, Jamaica’s electricity provider JPS said that over a third of its customers were without power, mostly in the west, and outage reports were still increasing.
In the last hour, JPS posted an update – it doesn’t offer specific numbers but says, “We know many of you are without power. We see you. We hear you”.
Meanwhile, roads continue to flood and waterways are overflowing. (BBC)
