Jamaicans are taking stock after Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm to hit the island in modern history, is determined across the country to leave a trail of runaways.
Without power or phone coverage, most of the country is isolated so information is tricky.
Authorities were only able to confirm the first death from the storm more than 24 hours after landfall. The bodies of three men and one woman were washed away by floodwaters in St Elizabeth Parish, said Finance Minister Desmond McKenzie.
There, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said “images of destruction are all around”.
“The damage is great, but we will devote all our energy to a strong recovery,” he said.
Three quarters of the country is without power, according to a recent press conference.
On the road to the west of the capital of Kingston we saw little damage – some buildings were torn down, trees were prominent in the streets and gardens.
But when we got to the center of Jamaica we began to see how badly the island had been invaded. The town of Mandeville has been, for want of a better word, soft. The gas station lost its roof and most of its pumps.
The main road that runs through the town is littered with debris, leaves clinging to everything and bad construction materials scattered on the side of the road.
By early Wednesday, the storm had made landfall in Cuba, causing flooding and damage. In Haiti, more than 25 people were killed, most when the river burst its banks in farm fields, said the local mayor.
At its peak, the storm sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph) – stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and killed 1,392 people. Since it has weakened to a stage 3 storm.
When the wind and rain hit overnight, one local Jamaican official said the destruction resembled an apocalypse movie scene.
Much of Jamaica’s western side is under water, and homes have been destroyed by strong winds after the storm ripped through the island.
People shared footage of roads turning into rivers, mud flowing down hillsides, roofs being torn off buildings and palm trees being thrown like teeth.
In the town of Black River on the south west coast, police officer Wargell Nicholson lived in the injured police station along with other residents. “It was devastating,” he told AFP News Agency.
In addition to the beach, Andrew Houston Mocure removed from the comfortable hotel he owns, with his wife and 20-month-old son. At the height of the storm, they barricade themselves inside the shower, which they have braced themselves with pillows and blankets.
“It was a very scary experience, especially for my son. The pressure is so low, you’re struggling to breathe, and it just feels like a freight train is being sent over you,” he told AFP.
Across the coast of Jamaica, floodwaters rose to the roofs of two-story homes, Kingston-based reporter Kimone Francis of the Jamaica Filleaner said.
Gena Genus, a 73-year-old vegetable farmer, was out of the storm with her sons and four grandchildren at her home in the village of Carlisle, St Elizabeth, when the storm tore off its roof.
“She was crying on the phone,” said her UK-based sister, adding: “You’re washed up inside and you look up and then Phakaphu, we’re all gone.”
She is eagerly waiting for the communication networks to be restored so she can talk to her sister.
St Elizabeth, known as Jamaica’s Breadbaskett, produces most of the island’s produce. With crops ruined and fields destroyed, many farmers will struggle to recover financially.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica told the BBC on other occasions that “There was complete devastation” and that one village, Black River, was “totally destroyed”.
On the north coast, Montego Bay – the heart of Jamaica’s tourism industry and home to the main airport – will take time to get back on its feet.
Montego City was split in two by floodwaters, Mayor Richard Vernon said. He told BBC Breakfast: “As soon as the wind eased, we started getting really heavy rain and that led to massive flooding across the city.”
His immediate concern, he added, was simple: “See if everyone is safe.”
In rural Jamaica, the storm has left people reeling. Tamisha Lee, President of the Jamaican network of rural producers, said: “Now, what I see is a lot of rain, and trees are flying everywhere, and they have a lot of things. No one is worried.
Meteorologists say Hurricane Melissa strengthened at an unprecedented rate, its rapid strengthening attributed to warm Caribbean waters – part of a broader trend linked to climate change.
By the time it hit Jamaica, the storm had reached Category 5 strength, with enough fuel to rip roofs off concrete homes, uproot trees and power poles.
Health authorities even issued a crocodile alert, noting that floodwaters could drive the creatures into residential areas.
Because thousands of tourists were caught on this island, the storm caused fear and uncertainty.
“I’ve never heard anything like that,” said Pia Chevallier from Cambridge, who was traveling to Jamaica with her 15-year-old son on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live in his dark room, he said: “The glass on the facades and patio areas were all attractive.” Even though they are closed. “
He added: “There is debris everywhere – palm trees, coconuts, branches, everywhere. Big palm trees with all their roots gone.”
On the north coast, Wayne Gibson, a British tourist from Kent Holiday in Ocho Rios with his wife and two daughters, told today’s program of forty and today.
Kyle Holmes from Bolton, visiting Lucea in the North West, described the hotel as a “disaster” and said he had no idea when they would be able to get home.
Jamaica has a disaster – a form of national insurance – that will allow people to allow people to return on foot, but the problem is that this is a temporary transaction.
Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeray
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