Kentucky woman waits for word from loved ones after Hurricane Melissa

LEE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lee County woman is anxiously waiting to hear from family and friends in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday as a Category 5 storm with 185 mph sustained winds.

MORE: Hurricane Melissa leaves 25 dead in Haiti, causes widespread damage in Jamaica and Cuba

Tonja Leismeister, director of Traveling with a Purpose - a volunteer organization that leads service trips to Jamaica, said she has reached out to about 12 contacts on the island but has heard back from only two.

“It’s been nerve-racking for sure,” Leismeister said.

Personal connection to Jamaica

Her organization supports two children’s homes and an autism center in Jamaica. Leismeister has a personal connection to the island - two of her children are adopted from Jamaica.

“So two of our children are adopted from Jamaica, and so we wanted to support the homes that raised our children for many years,” she said.

Of the two contacts who responded, one was not on the island during the storm, and the other managed to post on Facebook around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Calling for Kentucky help

As images and videos of devastation continue to emerge from Jamaica, Leismeister hopes Kentuckians will help with relief efforts, drawing on the commonwealth’s own experience with severe weather.

“Our infrastructure is much more stable than in Jamaica. The devastation could be much more significant, and the repair could take that much longer,” she said.

Relief efforts underway

Traveling with a Purpose is working to collect donations and organize relief efforts as more information becomes available about specific needs following the storm. The organization still plans to make its scheduled service trip to Jamaica in January.

“If we aren’t able to go in January, we will be scheduling one in the next few months,” Leismeister said.

She emphasized the importance of listening to residents and the Jamaican government for guidance on specific donations needed during recovery from the catastrophic storm.

If you would like to donate to the Traveling with a Purpose Organization - you find there website here.