TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa's vibrant Caribbean community is mobilizing to support their homeland as Hurricane Melissa barrels through the Caribbean with life-threatening winds, flooding and storm surge expected to cause catastrophic damage.
The powerful storm is already making its presence known in Jamaica, where government officials are preparing for what could be one of the strongest hurricanes on record.
"Safety is priority and being smart helps a lot," said Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's Minister of Telecommunication and Transportation.
WATCH: Tampa's Caribbean community prepares to help islands brace for Hurricane Melissa
In Tampa, where a strong Caribbean culture thrives, community leaders are sharing the concerns of many residents with ties to the islands.
"There is a lot of anxiety and fear, not through my mind - but of the people right now in Jamaica." said Francis Joseph, executive director of the Caribbean American National Development Organization in Tampa. "Because like you said, a category 5 hurricane has never hit the island before, so the buildings, the infrastructures, the roadways, the houses that were built how many years ago, was not designed to handle a storm of this strength. So we're anticipating a lot of disaster."
Joseph said his organization plans to use the Jerk Hut restaurant as a collection hub for donations, but they're waiting until after the storm hits to begin operations.
"We don't want to ready, fire, aim - there are going to be a lot of logistical challenges once the hurricane passes," Joseph said. "We're in a preplanning mode, and once the hurricane hits, then we'll find out where the entities are, who is available to communicate with, and the logistics for getting it shipped there."
Doret Jean, the lead pastor of Eben-Ezer Baptist Haitian Church, said he is also making plans to help by connecting with leaders in Haiti to determine support needs.
"We are one, one, one. We are all Caribbean, and anything can happen," said Jean. "Even though one area, or one person cannot do everything, but together - with the Caribbean leaders - whenever there is something that happens, we ready to get together with all the Caribbean communities to see what we can do."
The Grey Bull Rescue Foundation is a local donor-funded, veteran-led international rescue organization that is already positioned in the Caribbean on standby to deploy once the storm hits.
"It's gonna be ugly. It's gonna be very ugly," said Bryan Stern, founder of Grey Bull Rescue. "Cat 5 hurricane anywhere is gonna be catastrophic."
Stern, whose organization has completed nearly 800 missions in four years, already has requests to rescue Americans from the storm's path. He emphasized the challenges facing Caribbean islands compared to Florida's infrastructure.
"If we think about Helene or Milton in Tampa and the devastation that it caused, and all the houses that got messed up, and all the flooding, and all those other things - that's in Tampa, where buildings are built to code, that's in Tampa, where we have a fire department, a National Guard, a great governor, lots of resources, lots of money, lots of cops, lots of firemen, lots of medical people, all kinds of stuff," Stern said. "And that definitely gave us a run for our money. Jamaica doesn't have any of those things."
Stern noted that building codes in Jamaica differ significantly from Florida standards, and emergency response resources are a fraction of what Tampa has available.
"The military resources, the emergency response resources are 180th on a good day, what we have in Tampa, that's what they have as a country," Stern said. "So it remains to be seen how damaging... what loss of life and risk to life Melissa causes."
While most organizations are asking potential donors to wait for further instructions as they assess needs after the hurricane passes, Grey Bull Rescue is accepting donations now to fund the large-scale rescue mission they're anticipating.
Share Your Story with Annette
Annette Gutierrez knows safety is important for every community. She’s focused on finding solutions and getting results for both crime and our roads. She takes pride in sharing stories from Sarasota and Manatee counties, so send Annette tips on how she can help.
.
Girl Scout saves father's life with first aid training, receives Medal of Honor
Maggie Lewandowski said it was the first aid training she received with the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida that allowed her to help her dad when he suffered a stroke.
