‘Gut-wrenching’: Edmontonian with close ties to Jamaica hopeful for recovery after Hurricane Melissa
Posted November 8, 2025 3:30 pm.
Last Updated November 8, 2025 3:41 pm.
Jamaica is a frequent destination for many Alberta snowbirds. Heidi Glueck has been coming to the Caribbean island for 15 years.
“There’s a saying… ‘Once you go, you’ll know.’ The atmosphere is so relaxing, people just slow down there. It’s a different pace, it’s wonderful.”
Glueck fell in love with the country and her now partner who runs a glass-floor boat popular with tourists on the west coast. But her next visit will likely not be the same after Hurricane Melissa.
It was the first Category 5 Hurricane to hit the island. The west end took most of the force.
U.N. officials said Thursday that Hurricane Melissa flung nearly 5 million tons of debris across western Jamaica last week and warned it is preventing crews from delivering aid and restoring critical services quickly.
More than 180 shelters remain open, with 2,487 people living in them more than a week after the Category 5 storm made landfall, according to Jamaica’s emergency management office.
Crews are still clearing roads in an attempt to reach 27 communities that remain cut off by landslides and flooding.
“I hear the cry of every baby that is now hungry in a community that is not yet reached. It goes to bed with me,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Roughly half the island remains without power, although officials have set up generators and Wi-Fi hubs in certain communities.
“People lost their homes, their livelihoods. There’s some people that can’t even get food and water right now. It’s gut-wrenching,” said Glueck.
The Edmonton Transit Inspector couldn’t reach anyone in Jamaica until 5 days after the hurricane made landfall. She’s been getting pictures and videos of the destruction from friends and her Jamaican partner and his family.
After growing up in Jasper, she feels the same heartbreak for Jamaica and she did when her community went through the devastating 2024 wildfire.
Positivity is running through Glueck. To help her close friends and family, she started a GoFundMe to get necessities. A $3,000 goal was getting completed after it spread through her community of Canadian and American snowbirds.
Still, Glueck worries about the large tourism industry in Jamaica. Her partner and many other business owners have damages that will take a long time to repair. Her advice is if you have a vacation planned, don’t cancel.
“It’s not going to be 100% the same. But, the people that live there are very dependent on the tourist dollar,” she said.
Glueck still plans on continuing her trips while the country recovers. Her next one is set for December and she plans to bring an extra suitcase filled with essentials.
“They’re going to need all the help they can get. The Jamaican people are resilient, tough. They’re going to rise up and be better than ever. They will be back.”
–With files from The Associated Press
