Hurricane spares Kingston, Jamaica, from worst of its wrath so far, religious brother says

(OSV News) -- The director of apostolates for a Jamaica-based religious community serving the poor in Kingston said Oct. 28 that the Category-5 Hurricane Melissa seems to be sparing Kingston the worst of its wrath.

But he added that the storm was not yet finished, and much remained unknown about the historic hurricane's impact in the region.

“In this hurricane we did quite a bit of preparation and honestly we are scared and we don't know what to expect,” said Brother Nowel Barroga Rebamonte, a 22-year-member of the Missionaries of the Poor, who spoke with OSV News by phone Oct. 28.

“Looking at the news we are confused as to which one to pay attention to, but we see the hurricane is moving very slowly," he said. "We have prepared ourselves but the people in Kingston are terrified and we don't know what to expect because this is going to be the strongest hurricane Jamaica has experienced.”

Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm with winds of ranging from 175-185 mph, had already killed at least seven people -- three in Haiti, one in the Dominican Republic and three in Jamaica -- before it made landfall Oct. 28 in southwestern Jamaica at about 1 p.m. ET. CNN reported about five or six hours later that the historic storm, the strongest the planet has seen this year, was plowing across Jamaica, with its eye moving toward Cuba.

Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica's minister for local government, told CNN that “close to 15,000 Jamaicans were in emergency shelters across the country as the island continued to feel the effects of Hurricane Melissa."

The Missionaries of the Poor, Brother Rebamonte said, are based in the slums of Kingston and maintain a series of shelters for the homeless, elderly, mentally disabled, adults and children with disabilities, pregnant women and others, in addition to offering medical health services.

The order, founded by Father Richard Ho Lung, has a presence in the Philippines, India, Haiti, Paraguay, Uganda and Kenya.

Because so many of the shelter staff in Kingston sought refuge in hurricane shelters or relocated out of the area, members of the order in Kingston are filling in by doing all the work to maintain their charitable programing throughout the crisis.

“The brothers are sleeping in the shelters because our staff in the shelters are unable to come to work so we are doing what is necessary and what needs to be done," Brother Rebamonte said. "We are grateful for the protection of God that (Kingston) didn't get any heavy damage yet.”

“I am hearing of roads being flooded and flooding in coastal communities. The hurricane is not yet finished; it is still in Jamaica and we are expecting it to go away this evening,” he added.

If Hurricane Melissa severely impacts primarily the opposite side of Jamaica, it may produce a situation where residents there seek refuge and assistance in the Kingston side of the island, a situation the brothers are prepared for following the storm.

“We have done that in the past: we have an outreach ministry building reserved for people who want to take shelter. And the government has worked well providing people with places of shelter.