40: **Hurricane Melissa: Concrete Kingston Spared, St. Catherine's Suffers Utter Devastation** Guest: Reverend Bill Develin Reverend Bill Develin reports from Kingston, Jamaica, describing Hurricane Melissa as an "unbelievable storm" that surpasses others h
Update: 2025-10-29
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Hurricane Melissa: Concrete Kingston Spared, St. Catherine's Suffers Utter Devastation
Guest: Reverend Bill Develin
Reverend Bill Develin reports from Kingston, Jamaica, describing Hurricane Melissa as an "unbelievable storm" that surpasses others he has experienced. The Category 5 hurricane features incredible winds reaching 185 mph and torrential rainfall, creating a "toxic mix and meteorological disaster." Develin, located in Kingston on a hill in a concrete home, did not need to evacuate and notes that Kingston has "definitely been spared," though power has been out in his neighborhood for approximately 12 hours and half of New Kingston's business district remains in darkness. In stark contrast, St. Catherine's Parish, approximately 120 miles to the west, has experienced "utter and complete devastation." This underserved, rural, and impoverished area is largely constructed of wood structures with zinc metal roofs, making homes highly vulnerable to the storm, comparable to the poorest parts of New Orleans during previous hurricanes. St. Catherine's Parish was on a mandatory evacuation list of 25 areas; fortunately, though the state public hospital's roof was ripped off, all patients and staff had been evacuated the day before the storm. The government of Jamaica, including Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the Office of Disaster Preparedness, performed exceptionally, establishing 880 safe shelters across the island and maintaining overall preparedness. The Ministry of Transportation hopes the airport will reopen within 48 hours to allow relief flights carrying humanitarian aid from organizations like Samaritan's Purse, the International Red Cross, and the European Union Humanitarian Relief Effort. Despite these efforts, devastation across western Jamaica from May Pen to Montego Bay—where 25,000 tourists shelter—will require massive cleanup efforts lasting at least a year, constituting a "double whammy" for communities still recovering from Hurricane Barrel, which struck over a year prior with similar force. Hurricane Melissa is expected to travel north through Montego Bay, then turn obliquely eastward toward Cuba, barrel into western Haiti, pass near the Bahamas and Bermuda, and eventually dissipate into the Mid-Atlantic Ocean.
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