Whereas stressing over the security of her household as Hurricane Melissa hits, a Surrey, B.C. lady is hoping the native Jamaican group will come collectively to assist individuals on the Caribbean island rebuild their lives.
Janice Davis owns Royals Jerk Spot Drive-Via and Royals Magnificence Provide – subsequent door to 1 one other – on 105A Avenue in Whalley.
Anxious and operating on no sleep, Davis mentioned she closed each companies on Tuesday, however deliberate to open up her restaurant house to the Jamaican group as members await information from their family members.
“I’m actually fearful concerning the individuals again dwelling,” Davis advised World Information in an interview.
Davis’ hometown of Rocky Level was underneath a compulsory evacuation order, because the hurricane, the strongest to hit Jamaica since recordkeeping started 174 years in the past, made landfall.
Whereas her mom has moved to greater floor, Davis mentioned her two brothers, sister and niece stay within the small fishing village on the southern coast of Clarendon Parish.
The World Meteorological Group mentioned Hurricane Melissa would probably deliver wind gusts exceeding 300 kilometres per hour, flash floods and landslides, marking the worst storm to hit Jamaica this century.
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Davis mentioned her sister needs she didn’t keep behind to trip out the Class 5 storm.
“I advised her to depart. I begged her, all of us begged her,” she mentioned Tues. “Now she’s panicking trigger the water’s coming in.”
Heavy floodwaters swept throughout southwestern Jamaica, winds ripped roofs off buildings and toppled timber, and quite a few energy outages had been reported as Hurricane Melissa slammed the Caribbean island.
“I believe she’s realizing how harmful it’s,” mentioned Davis, who worries about individuals dropping their properties and livelihoods.
“These individuals coming again are in all probability not going to have a house,” she mentioned.
Davis mentioned Jamaica continues to be recovering from Hurricane Beryl, which brushed the island’s south coast in July 2024, inflicting a number of deaths.
“It’s our responsibility to assist individuals again dwelling,” she mentioned. “Because of this we come to Canada, so we may get (a) higher life to assist the unlucky again dwelling.”
Fearing many Jamaicans can be homeless, Davis is organizing a grassroots campaign through her restaurant, which doubles as a community centre.
She’s encouraging the native Caribbean group to assist with non-perishable objects and money donations to ship again dwelling.
“It’s essential for me to offer again,” Davis advised World Information. “As a result of I do know what it’s like not having, even with my enterprise struggling, it’s due to the group why I’ve this place at this time.”
© 2025 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
