She recounted what it was like to speak to her family as the category five hurricane fast approached the island of Jamaica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the storm:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy uncle lives in Westmoreland, which is one of the parishes that was hit really badly. He lived in a wooden house, and so I was really concerned about him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of the older people, they insisted they were staying in their homes because they\u2019ve been through these hurricanes before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI said there\u2019s absolutely no way you can stay there. He won\u2019t survive it,\u201d Viola said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, friends of hers were able to confirm that her uncle was going to stay with a friend in a house that was \u2018stable enough\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viola explained how people in Jamaica were not fully aware of how big the hurricane was, since it is an island that has regularly experienced storms on a yearly basis in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents certainly didn\u2019t think the storm that was coming would become the third most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, as well as the most intense landfall in the Atlantic basin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She explained how she managed to contact her sister-in-laws, in which they told her they were all going to stay with another sister who had a concrete house, but that the son was staying in the wooden house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viola said: \u201cThey\u2019ve got to get out, it\u2019s not safe. They just weren\u2019t understanding that this was category five.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hurricane Melissa landed:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe storm made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October, during this time, Viola had trouble contacting her family due to phone lines going down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she did manage to get in touch with her sister, she discovered they were staying in a more stable house close to their home. She said: \u201cThey could look through the window and see their roof flying off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viola explained her sister\u2019s son was in the house as the roof was blown completely off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe moment he stepped out of the house, the house turned upside down. The devastation is just, you know, you have to see it to really understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[Her sister] was crying on the phone, the house was gone, she said I\u2019ve lost everything, nothing left. And I just felt for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I said I’ve been crying for you all, I’ve been praying for you. I’m going to try my best and see what I can do to help you guys. But, you know, there’s only so much I can do,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aftermath:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/360wire\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2025\/11\/5e31dd4a-80ac-428e-b9dc-824e35a44175.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe storm made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October, during this time, Viola had trouble contacting her family due to phone lines going down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she did manage to get in touch with her sister, she discovered they were staying in a more stable house close to their home. She said: \u201cThey could look through the window and see their roof flying off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viola explained her sister\u2019s son was in the house as the roof was blown completely off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe moment he stepped out of the house, the house turned upside down. The devastation is just, you know, you have to see it to really understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[Her sister] was crying on the phone, the house was gone, she said I\u2019ve lost everything, nothing left. And I just felt for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I said I’ve been crying for you all, I’ve been praying for you. I’m going to try my best and see what I can do to help you guys. But, you know, there’s only so much I can do,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n