PARK CITY, Utah — Normally, laughs can be heard coming out of the family-owned 11 Hauz Jamaican restaurant in Park City, but on Monday, the vibe in the air was slightly different.
Owner Sheron Grant was born and raised in Jamaica and is worried for her sister, who is currently bracing for Hurricane Melissa.
National News
Jamaica warned to shelter in place as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa approaches
“She was picking up her flowers. She was picking up all her flowers that she has outside. And I'm like, 'Well, you can't fit everything in the house,'” Grant joked.
Grant said her family has been through hurricanes before, but knowing the severity of this one, and the fact that communication may get lost, makes her even more worried.
“If I'm not hearing from my sister or anyone, then I don't know what is going on, so I'm going to have to wait, wait it out. And that definitely is going to put fear in your heart and wonder what's going on with them,” she said.
Her sister, Carisa Kelly, was able to join FOX 13 News on a video call from Jamaica and said they’re not worried.
“We’ve gone through hurricanes before; we’ve gone through Hurricane Gilbert in 1988,” Kelly said. "It’s something that we’re getting used to... [We] just know we are supposed to stock up and do what we’re supposed to do.”
In Salt Lake, Donovan Thompson, owner of Jamaica’s Kitchen Food Truck, is worried about his family overseas.
“I want to go back home. I miss home. I want to go back home, but we just pray and hope for the best,” Thompson said. "I’m still worried — you never know what can happen.”
His brother, Garey Gardner, also joined FOX 13 on a video call from Jamaica and explained how he and his neighbors are feeling.
“The narrative that we’ve all been fed in terms of Category 5 — there is no higher category,” Gardner said. "You can just imagine the anxiety.”
Gardner said he’s been boarding up the house and stocking up on food items, but he’s worried, considering that last time they had a major storm, they were unable to contact family members for a month.
“You can just imagine how petrifying that was, not knowing if something has gone wrong,” Gardner said.
Grant is devastated to hear what might happen in her country.
“It will be very sad, very sad, because in Jamaica, a lot of people there are very poor, and I don't know what's going to happen to some communities,” she said.
The families said their faith will carry them through.
“We just want to let overseas family and friends know we are OK so far, and then soon as the hurricane come and pass, we’ll get in touch with them to let them know that we are good,” Kelly said.
“We’re scared, but our faith is in Jesus,” Gardner said in a video he sent to Thompson.
The storm is expected to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning.
