More than a month after Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica’s western coast, many communities remain without power and running water, leaving residents to cope with primitive conditions as recovery efforts continue.

The Category 5 hurricane, which made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, on Oct. 28, left widespread destruction across several parishes, with Westmoreland among the hardest hit regions.

“His mother, grandmother, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, the list goes on, and they were all affected in Westmoreland, where the direct impact took place,” said Amber Harrison Lewis, whose family lives in the impacted area.

Hurricane Melissa developed from a tropical wave on Oct. 16 before intensifying rapidly in the Caribbean Sea. The system matched the 1935 Labor Day hurricane’s re

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