STORY: Standing before what was once her home on Crane Road in the coastal town of Black River, Pamella Foster fought back tears. The roof was gone, the windows and doors torn away, the kitchen swept out to sea. All that remained were wet mattresses, washed-off sheets, and the family that had come back with her.

“I come, not too long ago, about 20 or 30 minutes ago after I came here, the place was so devastated,” said Foster, a single mother and grandmother. “I was looking for it, but I don’t know, I just couldn’t manage. I have to cry, to ease the pain.”

Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever recorded to hit Jamaica, flattened homes across the island and devastated Black River, a quiet beach town on the country’s southern coast. People continued combing debris-strewn streets on Wednesday as residents returned to count their losses.

Foster’s daughter, Davia Banton, arrived with her four children to find little left. “We would have died,” she said, choking up. “Because I have one, two, three, and a baby and a little girl, and … thinking about it, if I had to choose one, wouldn’t be nice.”

As neighbors picked through what the floodwaters left behind, Foster tried to keep her emotions from her grandchildren. “When I get over emotion, I just cry,” she said. “I try to hide it from them. I try be strong with them, but deep inside, I’m really, really crying. We will survive, we will survive.”

Even amid the ruin, she expressed gratitude. “Thank God I can find a bed sleep on,” she said softly. “Even though they are soaking wet, we can lean them up so water can drain. If we will sit up, we will manage. We will manage.”

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: BLACK RIVER, JAMAICA (OCTOBER 30, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

1. DRONE FOOTAGE OF HURRICANE MELISSA DESTRUCTION

BLACK RIVER, JAMAICA (OCTOBER 30, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. VARIOUS OF PAMELLA FOSTER AROUND HER HOME

3. PERSON WITH CHILDREN NEAR DAMAGED HOME

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAMELLA FOSTER, HURRICANE MELISSA VICTIM, SAYING:

"I come this way, not too long ago, about 20 or 30 minutes ago after I came here, the place was so devastated. I was so, I don't know... I was looking for it, but I don't know, I just couldn't manage. I just could not manage the situation, even though I see it, been through it, but the managing direct part wasn't that good. So I go, I have to cry to ease the pain."

5. BOY SHOWING PUPPY

6. FOSTER NEXT TO HER HOME

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAMELLA FOSTER, HURRICANE MELISSA VICTIM, SAYING:

"I wish I could explain the pain. The pain, I don't know, but it's just like your heart, your stomach just bursts. It's just too much, too much."

8. VARIOUS OF FOSTER WITH CHILD NEAR HER HOME

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVIA BANTON, HURRICANE MELISSA VICTIM, SAYING:

"I'm just saying that if we had stayed, we would have died because I have one, two, three, and a baby, and a little girl, and... Thinking about it, (if I) had to choose one, wouldn't be nice."

10. VARIOUS OF CHILD PLAYING IN DAMAGED HOME

11. PEOPLE STANDING AROUND DAMAGED VEHICLES

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAMELLA FOSTER, HURRICANE MELISSA VICTIM, SAYING:

"When I get over emotion, I just cry. Just try to cry, but I try to hide it from them. I try be strong with them, but deep inside, I'm crying. I'm really, really crying. But I just, like, hide it. Yes. Just life. We will survive. We will survive. We will survive. We will survive. I reach and I see what it is like come to. I have some place to come to, and my other sister, they don't have anything to go to, and them lost everything. They don't have a bed to go lean up on side and dry. Thank God I can find a bed sleep on. So, even though they are soaking wet, but we can lean them up and water can drain and all. If we will sit up, we will manage. We will manage."

13. VARIOUS OF FOSTER NEXT TO HER HOME

14. CHILDREN AT DESTRUCTION SITE