Johnny Gupta, from Prestwich, had flown to Jamaica with his wife, two children and son-in-law to enjoy a dream holiday – but their trip turned to a nightmare when Hurricane Melissa arrived
A Brit who took his family for a “once in a lifetime” trip to Jamaica has spoken of the moment the apocalyptically powerful hurricane Melissa smashed into the island.
Johnny Gupta, from Prestwich, had flown to the island with his wife, two children and son-in-law to enjoy a week’s holiday on the tropical paradise.
But the family’s dream holiday turned into a nightmare as Hurricane Melissa wreaked havoc on the island.
Johnny and his loved ones are just some of the 8,000 British citizens currently in the country, with tourists and locals alike ordered to shelter inside on Tuesday the world’s strongest storm of the year so far, bore down on them leaving ‘catastrophic winds’ and ‘flash flooding’ in its wake.
The storm hit south-western Jamaica near New Hope with sustained winds of 185mph, dubbed ‘one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin,’ by the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami.
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The disastrous hurricane left dozens of people dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, fallen utility poles and water-logged furniture dominate the landscape.
Johnny told the Manchester Evening News how he initially arrived in Jamaica with his family last Wednesday (October 22), recalling how they were welcomed by glorious weather and sunshine – unaware of the looming threat of the hurricane.
After first hearing about the possibility of the weather event striking their beachfront hotel the following day, he said he initially ‘didn’t believe it’ and told his family ‘it would be OK’.
It was not until Sunday that guests at his hotel were informed they had to be moved to a different hotel for their safety, that panic began to set in.
“If we had known about this hurricane, I of course wouldn’t have flown here with my family,” Johnny told reporters. “When we first arrived on Wednesday the weather was fantastic. There was sun, everyone was singing and dancing.
“People were saying there was a storm coming, but the weather was so good I didn’t believe it. I told my children it would be OK.
“Friday and Saturday came and we heard more news and more news, and then we were moved to a different hotel one minute away on the Sunday night. That’s when people began to panic.”
The weather continued to worsen throughout Monday, with guests ordered to go to their rooms by 10pm and all head down to the lobby by 6.30am on Tuesday morning, when the storm made landfall in Jamaica. They were told to ‘only bring essential items’, Johnny said.
People were bundled in their hundreds into a cellar, with others in hallways and sleeping on deck chairs and loungers. Water began to pour in from the ceiling as the storm hit, with Johnny capturing the incidents on camera.
“We were hearing the wind get worse and worse, it was so loud,” Johnny said. “By 1pm Jamaican time the windows and doors were boarded up. Trees were falling down outside.
“Everyone was moved into different areas. Hundreds were all panicking. Some were moved into the theatres, hundreds were downstairs in the cellar.
“Then water started coming in from the ceiling. It was like being on the Titanic and we were all sitting there waiting to drown. There was water everywhere.
“One of the ceilings my wife was sitting next to fell one inch from where she was which could’ve killed her. It was just horrendous.
“I have to admit by about 6pm, we were quite scared and didn’t know what was going to happen or if the building was going to collapse in on us. It just kept getting worse and worse.”
Heavy floodwaters swept across the region as wind tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled into roads, with landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages reported.
In a post on X, the NHC warned that it was ‘an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation’ and that ‘catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge’ were ongoing in the country.
“Half of the staff lost their homes,” he added. “The devastation was outside the hotel grounds. We still aren’t allowed out.
“From 1pm to 9pm, it was eight hours of 185mph winds. Constant. We live in Manchester and we are used to 300 days of rain and storms, built this was on a different level. I’ve never seen anything like it. We were all scared but I had faith in my God that we would be fine.
“We were supposed to be flying back today, but half of the airport is destroyed now. They aren’t sure when they are flying us back.
“The workers were doing everything they could under the circumstances to look after us. We still have no water, we haven’t washed, brushed our teeth. People are still sleeping in the corridors because their rooms aren’t safe.
“It was a holiday of our lifetime. We worked so hard this last year, and we knew we wanted to go somewhere we’d never been before. It was something special for us to do as a family.
“But for the British travellers, I don’t think any of us understood what was to come. We knew it was serious when we were told to evacuate the rooms and grab our essentials.
“We are now confined to our rooms, with no pool, no amenities, no water. The staff have been unbelievable in looking after us, I pray for them in these unprecedented times.”
