OWENSBORO, Ky. — Dwayne Whyte, owner of the Jamaican Yard Vibes food truck, spent Tuesday morning on the phone with his mother and sister in Jamaica, where Hurricane Melissa roared ashore as a catastrophic Category 5 storm — the strongest to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

Packing sustained winds of 185 mph, Melissa made landfall near New Hope in St. Elizabeth Parish around 1 p.m. ET, unleashing life-threatening flash flooding, landslides and storm surges up to 13 feet across the Caribbean nation.

Whyte, who was born and raised in Jamaica’s Manchester parish, moved to Owensboro in 2019 after marrying a local woman. He launched the food truck serving authentic Jamaican dishes a year ago and has operated his brick-and-mortar restaurant for the past four years.

“They’re

See Full Page