'Chaos.' CT's Jamaican community scrambles to contact loved ones during Hurricane Melissa aftermath
Hurricane Melissa left destruction across Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba and is being called one of the strongest storms on record.
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It's being called one of the strongest storms on record.
Hurricane Melissa left destruction across Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba.
At least 25 people were killed in Haiti after a river overflowed its banks, and parts of Jamaica are inaccessible.
Hundreds of miles away in Connecticut, many people are trying to find out about their loved ones.
"Right now? It's chaos. You just feel lost, it's mindboggling." Cindy Mitchell, of Kingston Kafe (Kingston Kafe (@kingston_kafe) • Instagram photos and videos) in Stratford, says. "Are they floating down the river? Your heart just sinks, where are they?"
Sandra and Glenroy Powell, of Bridgeport, say they spoke with most of their relatives on Tuesday, but one day later, they could only reach a few of them.
"We feel for everybody in Jamaica because that's where we're from," Sandra Powell says. "Even other countries that have been affected, we feel for them too because we're all human and we're all going to face something someday."
Mitchell says her restaurant plans to start collecting donations to send to those in need.
"Getting them food, water, and something warm," Mitchell says. "that's really the first step."
Even if it takes years, Glenroy Powell says Jamaica will eventually bounce back.
"We have hope that it's going to be rebuilt and it's going to be better," Powell says. "If everybody thinks that way, it will be OK."
MORE: Optimum offering free calls, texts from the US to Jamaica due to Hurricane Melissa
