Jamaicans wake to devastation - floods, power cuts and crippled communications

The normal soundtrack that accompanies Jamaican life is silent this morning as many have woken to no electricity.

About three-quarters of the island is without power and many parts of its western side are under water, with homes destroyed by strong winds after Hurricane Melissa tore across the island with catastrophic force.

As wind and rain lashed through the night, one local official said the destruction resembled "the scene of an apocalypse movie."

With communications crippled, the true scale of the disaster remains unknown. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a "disaster area" late Tuesday, warning of "devastating impacts" and "significant damage" to hospitals, homes and businesses.

Although no deaths have yet been confirmed, Montego Bay's mayor Richard Vernon told the BBC his first task at daybreak would be "to check if everybody is alive."

Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to strike Jamaica in modern history, barrelled across the country on Tuesday, leaving behind a trail of ruin.

At its peak, the hurricane sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph) - stronger than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and killed 1,392 people.

"It resembled the scene of an apocalypse movie", an MP in western Jamaica told Kingston-based journalist Kimone Francis of The Jamaica Gleaner.

Francis described the night as "stressful" and "intense", marked by relentless heavy wind and rain.

"You don't have a connection. You can't speak to the people you normally speak to," she told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme.

Across Jamaica's central parishes, Francis said, floodwaters rose to the roofs of two-storey homes.

One anonymous woman told the BBC: "There is water coming in through the roof of my house. I am not okay."

While no fatalities had been confirmed, Jamaica's prime minister told CNN he feared "there would be some loss of life." Damage, he said, was widespread - hitting hospitals, schools, homes and businesses.

Local government minister Desmond Mckenzie said on Tuesday afternoon that the southwestern parish of St Elizabeth was "under water", with at least three families trapped in their homes in the community of Black River.

"Rescue teams are struggling to reach them because of the dangerous conditions", he said at a news conference.

Verna Genus was sheltering from the storm at her four bedroom home in the village of Carlisle, St Elizabeth, when the hurricane ripped the zinc roof off her house.

The 73-year-old vegetable farmer was in the house with her sons and baby grandchild when the hurricane made landfall over the area.

Verna has lost communications due to the power lines being down. But her UK-based sister, June Powell, spoke to the BBC about what happened.

"She was crying on the phone," June said, adding: "You are huddled up inside and then you look up then the roof is gone. I have never heard her like that - she was wailing 'we are all finished.'"

She is anxiously waiting for the communications networks to be restored so she can talk to her sister.

St Elizabeth, known as Jamaica's breadbasket, produces much of the island's produce. With crops submerged and fields destroyed, many farmers will struggle to financially recover.

On the north coast, Montego Bay - the heart of Jamaica's tourism industry and home to its main airport - will also take time to get back on its feet. This hurricane has put a hand around the neck of the Jamaican economy.

Montego city was split in two by floodwaters, Mayor Vernon said. He told BBC Breakfast: "Once the wind subsided, we started to get a lot of heavy rain and that has led to massive floods right across the city. One side of the city is now cut off from the other due to roads being inundated by flood water."

His immediate concern, he added, was simple: "Check if everybody is alive."

In rural Jamaica, the storm has left people shaken. Tamisha Lee, president of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, said: "Right now, what I'm seeing is heavy rain, powerful wind, a lot of things flying all over the place, and trees uprooted. There is no electricity. I am feeling anxious and tense. The damage will be enormous."

Meteorologists said Hurricane Melissa intensified at a speed rarely seen, its rapid strengthening fuelled by abnormally warm Caribbean waters - part of a broader trend linked to climate change.

By the time it struck Jamaica, the storm had reached Category 5 strength, with gusts fierce enough to tear roofs from concrete homes, uproot trees and snap power poles.

Health officials even issued a crocodile warning, cautioning that floodwaters could drive the reptiles into residential areas.

For thousands of tourists caught on the island, the storm brought terror and uncertainty.

"I've never heard anything like it," said Pia Chevallier from Cambridge, who travelled to Jamaica with her 15-year-old son on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live from her darkened hotel room, she said: "The glass in the windows and patio doors was all vibrating. The doors sounded like they were slamming, even though they were closed. It was horrendous."

She added: "There's debris everywhere - palm trees, coconuts, branches, all over the place. The big palm trees with all the roots are up. That's how strong the winds have been."

On the north coast, Wayne Gibson, a British tourist from Kent holidaying in Ocho Rios with his wife and two teenage daughters, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that they were sheltering in a communal hall.

Kyle Holmes from Bolton, visiting Lucea in the north west, described the hotel as "a disaster zone" and said he had no idea when they will be able to get home.

Hurricane Melissa had moved on to make landfall in Cuba by early Wednesday morning, leaving Jamaica paralysed and silent. Though it has since weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, it remains powerful with wind speeds of over 200km/h (124mph).

Jamaica has a catastrophe bond - a type of insurance for the country - which will hopefully allow people to get back on their feet, but the issue is what's done in the interim.

Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy