Desperate days - 25 communities still marooned

One week after Hurricane Melissa struck last Tuesday, 25 communities across the island are still cut off, leaving families stranded, hungry, and in desperate need of assistance.

Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr has been leading the nation's humanitarian response, coordinating relief efforts and monitoring the situation first-hand. He painted a grim picture of the current realities.

"So far, we have about 25 communities that are marooned and several families that have lost everything. I mean everything," Charles said during a press briefing yesterday.

"We are coordinating with every available resource, working to provide food, water, medicine, and shelter to those who need it most."

The scale of the devastation is heart-wrenching. Families swept from their homes now wait for aid in isolated pockets across the island, relying on helicopters from the Jamaica Defence Force, Blackhawks from US partners, and Chinuks to deliver essential supplies.

"Those are assisting us to provide a lifeline to the several Jamaicans that remain stranded through the evacuation process as well as the packages that are dropped off from the skies" Charles said.

"We're not only airlifting supplies; our teams are on the ground, venturing into areas where vehicles can't go, delivering relief to over 17 communities in just the last two days."

More than 30,000 food packages, along with hundreds of tarpaulins and water supplies have already been distributed, Charles said.

The stories emerging from these marooned communities are deeply human. Children going hungry for days, families sleeping in darkness amid the ruins of their homes, and neighbours clinging to hope amid unimaginable loss.

"The magnitude of the devastation is unprecedented in our history," said Culture Minister Olivia Grange, who is spearheading plans for a concert series to assist in the recovery effort.