In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa’s destruction, Bluefields Bay Villas Managing Director Houston Moncure says his mission is simple: keep people alive.

With this in mind, he has transformed his luxury resort into a relief hub for storm-ravaged residents.

“Since the storm, what we have been trying to do is just keep people alive,” Moncure told the Jamaica Observer when we visited the area on Friday.

“The entire community is decimated. If you look around, if you look up the hill, you’re seeing just rubble,” Moncure said. “All we’re trying to do is keep people alive until we get some NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and some Government assistance in to try and help people on a wider scale.”

Moncure and his team have been distributing food, water and even providing internet access to residents and emergency responders in the area.

“We actually had pretty full freezers from before the storm hit. We took in a tonne of water so we’re trying to give out food, we’re trying to give out water, [and] we’re doing the same for the police. I’ve offered them fuel for their vehicles, they’ve been using my Starlink and electricity to charge all their devices,” he shared.

With his generator and satellite internet connection, Moncure’s property has become a lifeline for communication.

“I am able to keep a pretty good connection and make sure that people can check with loved ones either on the other side of the island or abroad, or other people in other places that are able to get a Starlink. People are worried and they have really good reason to be,” he explained.

The relief efforts come even as the resort itself suffered extensive damage.

“We’ve got six villas and four suites. I don’t have a single structurally sound roof on any of my villas,” he explained.

“My four suites, seemingly on first inspection three out of four of them are pretty good, but one of my villas in Belmont, the roof is completely ripped off; two that are down here in Mearnsville, partially ripped off; the Hermitage, three-quarters of it is completely ripped off; and the house that I weathered the storm in is about a quarter ripped off,” he added.

Moncure estimates the recovery will take four to six months and cost several million US dollars, not including landscaping repairs which could add hundreds of thousands more.

“This is big, this is going to be absolutely massive. There is a lot of damage, I haven’t even begun to calculate…And then when you look around, just getting tourists here, it’s gonna be years before this place looks [back to normal],” he said.

Despite the personal and financial loss, Moncure is focused on community recovery. Noting that from lessons learned after Hurricane Beryl, he equipped his vehicles with Starlink satellite systems to ensure connectivity during disasters, a wise move that has helped him to weather the latest storm.

“It’s important to help because at the end of the day we’re all human beings and we all have a right to life, we all have a right to be here and if I can help and I don’t, how do I live with myself?”

“I’m gonna do what I can for this community. I’ve been talking to several NGOs. I’m really hoping that World Central Kitchen is going to come here, I’ve offered up the kitchen that had the roof torn off it, we’ve put tarps over it so it’s functioning again…whatever I can do to help this community,” the managing director said.

To further support his staff and neighbours who lost their homes, Moncure is purchasing shipping containers filled with food supplies, which he later plans to convert into housing units.

“The community is the lifeblood of the business that we’ve built here. Without the community, it’s not the experience that for 40 or so odd years our guests have come to love so we’ve gotta support the community back in its time of need,” Moncure said.