Aventura couple, other tourists forced to take shelter in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa makes landfall – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

(WSVN) – Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 hurricane on Tuesday, prompting many tourists on the island to shelter in place and prepare for the worst.

The monster storm is forecasted to bring catastrophic conditions, and experts said up to 1.5 million people across Jamaica would be directly impacted by Melissa.

One of those people is Aventura residents Jimmytre and Tyiesha Museau, who tell 7News they arrived in Jamaica for a work-related trip and had to run for cover with hundreds of others like them once Melissa was too near for them to leave.

“Everybody is just scared, and we’re all just tryna make it out,” said Jimmytre.

They showed 7News the shelter where they are riding out the storm, along with 500 people.

“This is the convention center. Everyone is lined up trying to get shelter,” said Jimmytre.

They say the resort where they were initially staying didn’t provide any relief for tourists stranded on the island, forcing many to find safety elsewhere.

“We had two options: either to pay or to leave the property,” said Jimmytre.

He said that while inside the convention center, emotions were heightened. One video, shared by the Museaus from inside the shelter, shows a woman raising her voice at another person. It’s unclear what the argument was about.

“The security and one of the coast guards came in to actually give us some updates to try to help people calm down,” said Jimmytre.

However, hours after first speaking with 7News, Jimmytre said all 500 people had to evacuate the shelter when the roof began to lift due to the strong winds.

On another side of the island, Kristin Morgan is also sheltering in place as she found herself with no way back to Atlanta after arriving in Jamaica for a wedding.

“We would book a flight, and the flight would be canceled. We would book another flight, and it would be canceled,” she said.

Morgan says she has a flight back home on Wednesday, but with planes grounded and airports closed, she knows she most likely won’t be able to leave.

“As long as we get there safe, I’m happy with it. But it’s looking like it’s going to be Friday or Saturday,” she said.

As she awaits the reopening of airports, Morgan says she feels safe where she is staying.

“Outside of the winds pounding against the windows, I feel relatively safe,” she said.

Morgan said this isn’t her first hurricane that she’s had to ride out.

“Unfortunately, I was caught in the Hurricane Katrina portion in Miami back in 2005, and it reminds me, it’s bringing me back.”

Tierra Thomas, a Miami resident also stuck in Jamaica, tells 7News she’s not worried but was already feeling the effects of Melissa.

“Stuff is everywhere. This is the hallway, and we have tiles in front of our doors because water is starting to come in,” said Thomas.

She showed 7News the views from her resort. The strong winds had knocked down signs and several trees.

“Now it’s getting real, that’s all I can say,” said Thomas.

Thomas said she’s grateful she’s still able to have electricity and Wi-Fi, while she says some of her friends can’t say the same.

“I guess I lucked out in the department because we have some friends who left the hotel to go to Montego Bay so that they don’t get stuck over here with all the debris, and they didn’t have any electricity since [Monday] morning,” she said.

Thomas says the hotel is giving guests water and food, and she has been stocking up since the weekend.

“I was there for Andrew, so I’m used to hurricanes. I’m not afraid of them, but I ain’t ever been surrounded by water,” said Thomas

While all stranded tourists are waiting out the storm, they all say they can’t wait to get home safely.

Jamaican officials say 25,000 tourists are sheltering on the island as of Tuesday.

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