ST ANN, Jamaica – Kayan Davis had a weight of concern on her shoulders Wednesday following the passage of Hurricane Melissa which left a trail of destruction in her community of Priory in St Ann.

When Observer Online visited the seaside north coast community on Wednesday, Davis was fretting over where she and her three children would sleep that night.

Recalling the horror of the Category 5 storm the day before, Davis told journalists that her roof began lifting in the strong winds about 11pm.

“The zinc was flying off,” Davis said. “I have never experienced anything like this, I have nowhere to sleep,” she added while clutching onto her nine-year-old daughter.

Hurricane Melissa slammed Jamaica with winds estimated at 185 miles per hour, torrential rain that caused widespread flooding, and a 10-feet storm surge.

Davis’ neighbour, fisherman George Brown, who also lost the roof of his home during the hurricane, said it was the worst storm he has ever witnessed.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” the 68-year-old said. “Of all the storms that have passed through, this is the worst one mi see, [Hurricane] Gilbert is no match to this.”

It was a similar story from Marvin Thomas, a 40-year-old janitorial services provider. A mango tree fell onto his house during the storm and destroyed the roof.

When journalists visited his home on Wednesday, Thomas was a picture of despair while another man carried out repair work on the covering.

“It mash me up, it bad, bad, bad,” Thomas said as he faced the reality of having to rebuild. “I have to be paying a man to cut up the tree.”

Still, during the crisis of Hurricane Melissa, first responders turned into heroes. Among them is 62-year-old Priory resident Adina Higgins, who housed a number of her affected neighbours in her home during the storm.

Recounting the “scary” experience, when the winds and rain became more ferocious on Tuesday night, Higgins recalled “the housetop dem starting to lift up” before two victims sought refuge at her home about 7pm.

“We took them in and they slept for the night,” she said. “I gave them bed, clean and warm clothes.”