ATLANTA - An Atlanta-area chef is anxiously waiting for word from his family in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa batters the island with destructive wind, rain and storm surge.
What they're saying:
Chef Andrew Cohen, who owns Chef Andrew Jamaican Cuisine in the Riverside neighborhood, says he has not heard from any relatives since Monday, including his 16-year-old daughter.
"I can't hear from nobody, I just watching the news. I seen Saint Elizabeth, top of a hospital blow off, and now I can't get a hold on nobody," Cohen said.
Cohen had just returned from Jamaica last week. He says his daughter briefly texted him late Monday night.
"Late last night my daughter texted me and asked me if I'm OK, and I tell her that. Asked her if she's OK. She said yes. And that was the last. I don't hear from nobody from there."
He believes widespread power outages are likely to blame. Before the storm reached the island, Cohen sent his family money to prepare and to help safeguard his property and animals there.
"When a storm like this, you know, sometimes weeks before you hear from your family, weeks before place open up, everything mash up, place mash up, it's gonna take a while to come back together," he said.
Cohen says he is staying hopeful but admits the silence has been unsettling.
"It's kinda scary not hearing from nobody. You don't know what's happening if they have their house top blow off."
The backstory:
Hurricane Melissa slammed Jamaica on Tuesday with catastrophic winds and flooding rain, ripping roofs from buildings, toppling trees and knocking out power across wide sections of the island, according to the Associated Press and FOX News.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica with sustained winds of 185 mph and a central pressure of approximately 892 millibars, tying some of the strongest landfalls on record.
Emergency crews were unable to reach some hard-hit communities as storm surge pushed seawater inland and communications collapsed.
Jamaican officials warned that conditions remained life-threatening even after the center of the storm passed.
What's next:
Jamaican disaster-management officials say post-storm cleanup and damage assessments for Hurricane Melissa will be delayed because of blocked roads, flooding and landslides. "It's nothing to play with," said Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda, as evacuation numbers remained low.
The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Melissa is forecast to move north and then northeast after leaving Jamaica, with the center expected to approach eastern Cuba late Tuesday night into Wednesday before tracking toward the southeastern Bahamas.
Forecasters say the storm is likely to weaken slightly after interacting with land but will remain a major hurricane, and while no direct U.S. landfall is currently expected, dangerous surf, rip currents and possible tropical storm conditions cannot yet be ruled out for parts of the southeastern coast later this week.
What you can do:
He is already planning to collect donations to send relief supplies to people impacted in his home country.
Chef Andrew will be accepting donations to ship to Jamaica at his restaurant in Riverside.
The address is 2102 Hollywood Road NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30318.
People can bring donations from 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily.