ManitobaMembers of Winnipeg’s Jamaican community were hoping for the best but bracing for the worst, as a hurricane that could bring massive devastation touched down on the island nation on Tuesday. Storm touched down in Jamaica as a Category 5 on TuesdayCBC · Posted: Oct 28, 2025 10:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesKedian Nelson and her husband, Anthony Nelson, own the Caribbean Party Restaurant in Winnipeg. Both originally from Jamaica and have family and friends living there. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)Members of Winnipeg’s Jamaican community were hoping for the best but bracing for the worst, as a hurricane that could bring massive devastation touched down on the island nation on Tuesday. “Jamaicans are resilient, they’ve come out of a lot of things, but this one seems like it’s going to be a really bad storm,” said Winnipegger Kedian Nelson.”I’m really, really worried for the people.”Kedian and her husband, Anthony Nelson, own the Caribbean Party Restaurant in Winnipeg and are both originally from Jamaica. Both have family and friends living there who now face whatever Hurricane Melissa might bring.The storm made landfall on Jamaica’s southwestern coast as a Category 5 storm shortly after noon CT, and has been confirmed to be the strongest to hit the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago. Many residents are now sheltering in place despite government orders to evacuate, and both Kedian and Anthony Nelson said they are now hoping for everyone’s safety as the storm barrels through. Anthony says he got a message from his sister who lives in Jamaica on Tuesday, letting him know that her house was already flooded from the storm. “We’re very scared, especially for my sister, because everybody is wondering what’s going to happen. Is your house going to get destroyed? And what can you recuperate?” he said. “Even if you survive and you don’t get damage, what about your friends and your neighbours?”Both Kedian and Anthony say the last time they visited their home country, they saw signs of progress in terms of development and infrastructure. They’re hoping the storm doesn’t wipe out that progress. “The country was basically going in the right direction,” Kedian said. “You want a fast rebuild,” she said, but with the damage the storm is expected to bring, “I don’t think a rebuild is going to be quick.”Anthony said although he worries about buildings and infrastructure, nothing is more important to him than people simply surviving the storm. “I’m just praying at this point that there’s no more loss of life,” he said. “We can always rebuild if we have to rebuild. We’re resilient enough to rebuild.”‘We have a responsibility to really step up’Winnipegger Robert Collins is currently in the St. Andrew Parish area of Jamaica, caring for his sick sister and elderly mother. He told CBC Up To Speed’s Faith Fundal on Tuesday he was busy boarding up windows at the house where he’s staying. WATCH | Jamaicans in Winnipeg worry for loved ones as hurricane hits:Winnipeggers worry for loved ones in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa landsHurricane Melissa, the strongest to hit Jamaica in more than 170 years of record-keeping, made landfall Tuesday afternoon. As those on the island face the storm, Jamaicans in Winnipeg are trying to make sure their loved ones are OK.”It’s really bad. We’ve sustained some damage to the house now. You can hear outside banging, it’s an awning pipe that is swinging wildly that was anchored up, but the wind managed to get under it. “It’s quite like a scene out of Final Destination.”But he said he is optimistic that Jamaicans will come out of the storm ready and able to rebuild.”Jamaica has a track record of resilience,” he said. “We have faced tremendous hurdles and storms before and we have always bounced back, and I do hope and pray that we are able to bounce back as quickly as possible.”Shemar Barnes, the president of the Jamaican Association of Manitoba, says he hopes Manitobans consider donating to relief efforts that will begin once the storm moves on, because the need will be great.Shemar Barnes, the president of the Jamaican Association of Manitoba, says he hopes Manitobans consider donating to the relief efforts that will begin once Hurricane Melissa moves on. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)”There are over 6,000 people in shelters, and they are anticipating that that number is going to climb drastically by tonight,” Barnes said Tuesday.There will be a need for food, sanitary items, clothing and infant-care items, he said, encouraging people to help where they can.”We are a community no matter where we are, so we always look out for each other, and right now the country is facing a disastrous storm that we won’t know the true impact of until the next coming days,” said Barnes. “So we have a responsibility to really step up, and to help out our brother and sister and those back home.”With files from Felisha Adam
Jamaicans in Winnipeg brace for worst as Hurricane Melissa hits island
