As powerful Hurricane Dean barrels toward Jamaica, Long Islanders with family on the island nation were praying for the best Sunday.

"I'm very concerned," said Angela Johnson, of Hempstead. "I need to send some money home."

Sonia Cohen has seven brothers and sisters in Jamaica and she believes they're better-prepared for the Category 4 storm than they were in the 1980s with Hurricane Gilbert.

"We collected a lot of water so we can have water to cook, to bathe and to flush the toilet," Cohen's sister Daphne Cohen told News 12 Long Island over the phone. "[We're] as prepared as we can be, but you never know."

Workers at a Golden Krust eatery in Hempstead are hoping for the speedy and safe return of their boss, who is in Jamaica with family.

Weather experts say the storm, which has killed eight people en route to Jamaica, has over 140 mph winds. They predict the storm could grow to a Category 5 hurricane on its way toward Mexico Monday or Tuesday.

AP wire reports contributed to this story.

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