Desperate Scavenging in Jamaica: Hurricane Melissa Causes Widespread Destruction

Mon Nov 10 2025 23:17:35 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, residents of Black River, Jamaica are resorting to desperate measures as they scavenge for food and water among the wreckage left by one of the most powerful storms in history. The community is grappling with extensive damage, a rising death toll, and a lack of aid.

Following Hurricane Melissa, Black River, Jamaica has been transformed into a scene of devastation, with nearly every inhabitant struggling for survival. Residents face dwindling resources and increasing desperation as they search for food, with some resorting to looting for basic necessities. The storm, categorized as a Category 5 hurricane, has had a catastrophic impact, leaving the town largely isolated and powerless. Officials confirm a rising death toll and highlight the urgent need for aid as local infrastructure crumbles.

People walk along muddied roads scavenging the wreckage for food. Others jump into damaged stores in the hope of finding bottled water or other supplies.

As the death toll rises, residents of Black River are still searching for loved ones while they also battle to survive, days after Hurricane Melissa made this Jamaican port city ground zero of the devastation seen across the Caribbean.

Residents here say they have been living in a state of chaos the last three days since Melissa slammed into them as one of the most powerful category 5 storms ever recorded in the region.

The fierce winds and storm surge that barreled through here have decimated nearly everything, leaving roads unusable and a trail of destruction that has them increasingly desperate and isolated with no electricity or running water.

Capsized boats lie curb side. Brick buildings are split in half. Giant sheets of metal are twisted between tree branches. Vehicles sit in crumbled pieces.

Residents who spoke to the BBC said they have seen no aid trucks in the area so far and described having to eat what food they can find in debris by the roads in the coastal town, nearly 150 km (93 miles) west of Kingston.

Others made their way inside battered supermarkets, taking what they could for themselves. Some, who climbed on top of one partially destroyed market, tossed food and bottles of water down below, where people gathered with arms outstretched.

We have to use whatever we see here, on the street and also in the supermarket, Demar Walker explained, sitting in a shaded area down the street from the store to escape the heat and 80% humidity.

He said he and others had to climb into the market due to its roof caving in and took what they could. They tossed water and items to others also in need.

Nearby, others told the BBC of a local pharmacy being looted in Black River, describing anarchy as people ran in and out carrying armfuls of drugs and alcohol.

Just down the road, a woman standing atop a pile of debris describes the situation as chaos, chaos. Total. No food. No water.

One couple told the BBC that they owned multiple stores in the area, several of which they said had been looted. They are now standing guard outside one of their stores in the hope of preventing future thefts.

A local medic, Michael Tharkurdeen, described the horrifying conditions following the storm. People that did make it to him from the flooded-out buildings nearby arrived in bad condition. They had 'lacerations on their hands, their feet', he says. Kids, elders, everybody.

By mid-afternoon on Friday, a fleet of military helicopters flew into Black River - many hoping they came with desperately needed supplies. But aid has been slow to arrive to the hard-hit areas, leaving the community reeling in the wake of destruction.