JAMAICA — A family from Ohio is stuck in Jamaica as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa moves in, according to our media partner WCPO-9 TV.
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Charlie and Laura Moorman, of Cincinnati, and their 5-year-old daughter Navia were taking a vacation at the Bahia Precipe resort when the storm quickly developed and turned toward the island.
The couple showed our media partners around the resort, which is now boarded up and surrounded by sandbags.
The Moormans said they have prepared their belongings and are ready to head into the resort’s central shelter, WCPO-9 reported.
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“We’re going to be in a room with (700 to 800) other people who are all going to be coping with this in different ways,” Charlie said.
They tried to book an emergency flight off the island through Delta for Sunday afternoon, but it was canceled.
“All flights off the island had already been canceled,” Charlie said.
A Delta spokesperson told WCPO-9 that Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay (MBJ) hours before officials initially communicated on Sunday, causing cancellations.
“Delta sympathizes with customers in Jamaica who were expecting to depart Sunday,” Delta said in a statement. “We are focused on staying in touch with them and providing updates about service resumption as we know them.”
The spokesperson said the airline will stay in contact with Jamaican authorities and resume services as soon as it’s safe, WCPO-9 reported.
“We’re just trying to stay calm for our kid, mostly,” Laura said.
However, the thought of the approaching hurricane has filled them with fear.
“Our hope is to get out on our flight that is scheduled for Friday,” Laura said. “That is our number one hope.”
Matthew 25 Ministries, an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization, said it will respond to provide help.
“Recent shipments of essential supplies to Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad have allowed these partners to have pre-positioned aid to be used for immediate and rapid response once the storm passes. The organization is in communication with these partners serving the impacted regions to identify the most urgent, immediate and long-term needs,” a release from Matthew 25 Ministries said.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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