KINGSTON, Jamaica — Hurricane Melissa turned tourists’ relaxing Caribbean getaway into a nightmare, as the sound and force of the wind reminded them of scary “ghost stories” on Tuesday in Jamaica.
A group of women traveled together from Houston, Texas, to the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa, a 5-star hotel in Point Lucea. They had memorable group pictures on the beach holding cocktails.
It all changed after they hunkered down in their hotel rooms during the Category 5 hurricane. Debra Shields was in a second-floor room. She said she felt like someone was trying to “break through” the door.
Dana Morris Dixon, a government spokesperson, told reporters that there were about 25,000 tourists on the island.
The two international airports closed on Monday, and hotels were offering “distress rates” to the tourists who were stranded.
Amanda Tessoff was at the Sandals South Coast resort in White House with her fiancé when flights out of Jamaica sold out or were canceled by Saturday, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Rebecca Chapman told the BBC she was at a hotel in Lucea that felt like a “ghost town” with her husband and their three teenage sons, and they were hearing a “weird roar.”
More on Tuesday’s hurricane coverage
- Hurricane Melissa challenges hospitality industry entrepreneur in Jamaica
- University professor on Hurricane Melissa in Kinsgton: ‘I have never experienced these gusts’
- Reporting from Montego Bay
- Local 10 News Weather Authority updates
- Here is how to help from South Florida
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