News
November 15 2025
Melissa leaves disabled struggling for survival
Updated
December 9 2025
5
min read
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People are seen in Petersfield High School, Westmoreland which was converted as a hurricane shelter. Photo - File
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People are seen in Petersfield High School, Westmoreland which was converted as a hurricane shelter. Photo - File
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Chevron Campbell sits quietly in the shelter, his hands trembling involuntarily from Parkinson’s disease. Photo - Antoine Lodge
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Shelter resident Elsie Owens has been visually impaired for the past three years. Photo - Antoine Lodge
Behind the visible destruction left by Hurricane Melissa lies another unfolding tragedy for Jamaica’s disabled, as residents in the hardest-hit areas struggle with limited medical care and basic accessibility, turning their search for refuge into yet another fight for survival. Inside a makeshift shelter at Petersfield High School in Westmoreland, the air was heavy with unspoken fears and quiet terror for five of its most vulnerable occupants, displaced by the Category 5 hurricane that tore through Jamaica’s western parishes on October 28.
