Two weeks after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, a British Columbia man who was rescued is recounting his family’s escape and hoping he can lend to the rebuilding efforts on the island.
“You could hear glass smashing, things bouncing off walls, the wind picking stuff up and throwing it around,” said Chris Kerr of Terrace, B.C.
Kerr, his wife and two children were on a family trip to Jamaica when the storm hit. They took cover in a theatre at the resort where they were staying.
Since the storm, at least 32 people in Jamaica have been confirmed dead, and the United Nations reported on Thursday that nearly 36,000 people require food assistance and more than 100,000 housing structures have been affected.
Kerr said the storm sheared off layers of the theatre they were sheltering in, allowing water to pour in.
“It was chaos, people screaming and running and yelling – just trying to keep people calm was something else,” he said.
“I turned into rescue mode at that point and I was helping families get out, moving people along the concrete walls and into the foyer and stuff that were relatively protected.”
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As of Oct. 29, no Canadians have been reported dead as a result of the hurricane. Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, said Canada was “very closely” monitoring the situation and was ready to help with local requests for logistics and humanitarian assistance.
He noted Cuba, which was also hit, and Jamaica have both tapped US$4 million from a UN emergency fund to which Canada has contributed more than $29 million this year.
At the time of the storm, an email to Global News said there are 2,113 Canadians registered in Jamaica. In the days that followed, visitors spent days scrambling to find a way back home.
Kerr said WestJet passengers were eventually told a bus would pick them up but when they got to the airport in Kingston, there was no power and they were forced to return to Ocho Rios.
A day later, they went to an airport in Montego Bay where there was also no power. Eventually, they made it onto a plane.
“My family of four and then I think there was four other people and they closed the door,” Kerr said. “We sat down, we were so happy to be on the plane.”
The family was supposed to return Oct. 29, but it took until Nov. 3 to get home.
He’s only been back in B.C. for a few days, but Kerr told Global News he wants to return to the Jamaica to help, using his knowledge as a water and sanitary officer with the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. He’s registered with the Red Cross, the Jamaican government and Operators Without Borders, hoping to return soon.
“The monetary thing, I don’t have a lot of money. I would send every dime I had (but) it can’t happen,” he said. “But what I can do is I can go back down and I can help rebuild. Just, that’s my purpose, that’s my objective now.”
He said this could include helping to rebuild water systems, sewers and other aspects that could help get water back to residents quickly.
“I couldn’t get down there fast enough now,” he said. “I’ve explained to my family that this is sort of something that I need to do. I’ve expressed to my employer that it’s something that I would desire to do to help out and everybody is receptive to it.”
—with files from Global News’ Darya Zargar
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
