TRELAWNY, Jamaica – There was mounting frustration in storm-ravaged western Jamaica on Thursday as fuel shortages continued to plague motorists several days after Hurricane Melissa battered the region.

At Flamingo Gas Station in Flamingo Beach, Trelawny, dozens of motorists queued for hours in the hope of getting petrol. Some said they had passed several shuttered stations before finally reaching one that still had supply.

“Ironshore mi a come from,” said Nicholas, one of the drivers seen waiting in line. “Pass four gas station already, and it nuh look like mi intend to get gas either.”

Another motorist who identified himself as Anthony, told the Jamaica Observer he had been waiting close to an hour without movement.

“Mi deh yah from before one o’clock, and a just now the line even start creep. But mi haffi try, can’t afford fi run out,” he said.

A representative from the Flamingo Gas Station voiced his own frustration with the situation, saying discipline had broken down as the crowd grew. He did not want to be named.

“People have no principles,” he lamented. “Yuh ask dem fi get inna di line so everybody could get through, but nobody nuh waan listen. From morning we open, and di line stay same way.”

Some of those fortunate enough to secure gas said they needed it urgently for business operations. Jason Cummings, managing director of Jascum Solutions Limited, said he bought 15 gallons, at a cost of $17,000, to keep his construction company running.

“I have a construction company, and we’ve been doing some of the work at the airport to make sure that it’s up and running,” Cummings explained. “We need the generator working so we can help get people coming and going out of the country again.”

Similar scenes played out in Montego Bay, St James, where a handful of petrol stations that reopened on Thursday came under heavy pressure from motorists and residents, many carrying containers to secure their share. A gas station on Union Street saw tempers flare as individuals came to near blows trying to fill up.

The situation underscores the broader struggle facing communities in western Jamaica as they work to restore normalcy in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, with long lines, limited supplies, and weary residents determined to keep moving.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica on Tuesday with ferocious winds and torrential rains, leaving a trail of destruction across mostly western parishes and resulting in a disruption in fuel supply to those areas.

On Friday, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz said the police have been asked to escort fuel tankers into the hardest-hit parishes, noting that the state-owned oil refinery, Petrojam, began the loading of tankers for islandwide delivery at 6:00 Friday morning “ensuring that fuel distribution continues uninterrupted”.