Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica as a historic Category 5 storm Tuesday, bringing extensive damage, flooding and power outages to the island.
As officials and residents begin assessing the catastrophic damage, one man said he rode out the storm in his home by tying ropes around his windows and doors to keep them from blowing open.
Marvin Edwards, who lives in Montego Bay, shared a video with CBS News Miami showing how he used the ropes to brace his doors as Melissa’s powerful winds pounded his house.
“Everybody’s roof is gone,” Edwards is heard saying in the video. “It’s crazy.”
Edwards told CBS News Miami that he decided to stay at his home because he wanted to make sure his property was safe and that it wouldn’t get looted. He acknowledged the whole ordeal was terrifying.
“At one point, I had to go in the bathroom because it was getting really intense,” Edwards said.
Edwards, who went outside Wednesday morning to assess damage in his surrounding neighborhood, said it was messy and there was a lot of flooding.
“A young lady got trapped in the vehicle because there was so much water that was coming,” Edwards shared. “Some persons passing by… lucky enough, they helped her out.”
Edwards works as a tour operator. He said there’s currently no power throughout the area. He believes the storm is going to affect tourism to Jamaica tremendously.
“There won’t be any jobs for a very, very long time,” Edwards said.
