EVERETT, Mass. —

While Hurricane Melissa menaces Jamaica, one Massachusetts resident is preparing to ride out the storm in his hotel room after he was unable to get a flight home from the Caribbean island.

Dalton Clarke, of Everett, said he traveled to Jamaica to attend a funeral.

He originally planned to stay through Wednesday, but tried to move his departure up after learning how severe the storm is expected to be. Clarke tried to switch to an earlier flight, but said he couldn't get a ticket.

"I was going to try and see if I could leave the day after the funeral, which would be Sunday, yesterday," Clarke said. "The airport was closed at 12 p.m. When I started investigating, they told me the airport was going to be shut down at 12."

Instead, Clarke is waiting out the storm at Hotel

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