Several Bahamians did not make it out of Jamaica before monster storm Hurricane Melissa made landfall there.

Pastor Diallo Ingraham of Eleuthera spoke to ZNS News from Montego Bay where he officiated a destination wedding over the weekend. Ingraham said, “I guess the consolation is that we are here with family members. We are here with a good cadre of Bahamians. It’s a collective effort. We got together yesterday. We opened with prayer. We tried to keep everyone calm as much as possible. We had the other members working on financial assistance where was needed. We don’t want to be here but we think we’re here with a good group of people who have a large, diverse set of skillsets, so I think that helps.”

The group has established communications through WhatsApp and have reached out to other Bahamians stranded on the island.

Sen. Hon. Darren Henfield is one of the people riding out the storm in Jamaica. He also was experienced Hurricane Dorian in 2019. He told ZNS News that those around him were faring well and in good spirits. “We’re trusted God and believing not only for us but also for the people of Jamaica that we’re going to be okay at the end of the day,” he said.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on the island of Jamaica as a category five storm.