Jamaica Blogs About Hurricane Dean

Photo by Don Giovanni via Flickr

Last Thursday, I called my dad to hear just exactly how much danger his cousins in Jamaica were facing. The news had just hit that Hurricane Dean appeared to be turning into a Category 5, and was heading straight for the south coast, less touristy due to the rougher and slightly less turquoise-colored waters, where my relatives live. Technically my dad's second cousins (what does that make them to me? third? or once-removed?), and part of the white Jamaican middle-class with more British-sounding accents, they are grandparents now and live not far from the well-known Jake's Hotel. They live up on a hill and in a sturdy brick house, (their yard sports a view of the south coast that has been used in many postcards), but being elderly and alone, they gave us cause to worry. Even though I myself asked why they didn't evacuate, (to which my dad responded "Where would they go?"), it irritated me when I read articles which stated repeatedly that "residents refused to leave". Driving there is frightening even in good weather (you better honk if you're coming around a corner), and truth be told, crime has gotten so bad, many people were afraid of looters and getting shot, if they tried to drive out to shelters. Not to mention flights are difficult to get within four days even when there isn't a natural disaster looming, and the ones that were available got snatched up by tourists who suddenly realized they have terrible luck.