Chinese supermarkets save the day for MoBay’s ‘Melissa doubters’
MoBay finalises peparations for hurricane
Published:Tuesday | October 28, 2025 | 12:09 AMAdrian Frater/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Except for the Chinese-owned supermarkets and sanitation workers, downtown Montego Bay resembled a ghost town yesterday. Businesses, gas stations, and street vendors had all cleared out as it became clear that St James lay directly in the projected path of Hurricane Melissa.
Among the last-minute shoppers was John Earle, who admitted that he hadn’t initially taken the hurricane threat seriously. He was among those crowding the Chinese-owned supermarkets along St James Street in search of supplies.
“Thank God for the Chinese dem because all the black supermarket people dem locked down them place and gone,” said Earle, who admitted to The Gleaner that he only started taking the threat of the hurricane seriously on Sunday. “To be honest, because storm always threaten Jamaica and nothing nuh happen, I was hoping that this one would be the same, but bwoy, it not look suh at all.”
“Thanks to the Chinese dem, me manage we get some tin a bully beef, sausage and sardine, so at least, me nah go dead fi hungry,” he added.
At Fisherman’s Beach off Howard Cooke Boulevard, the usual bustle of people buying fresh fish was replaced by a flurry of activity as fishermen hauled their boats, nets, and fish pots inland to safety.
A work crew, marshalled by businessman Tyrone Gordon, was on location, busily clearing the drain that runs alongside the fishing beach.
“We are doing our best to clear the drain. so that the water can run off freely into the sea without hindrance,” said Gordon. “As you can see, the fishermen are securing their boats; some are even transporting them away to other locations. I heard the forecasters saying this hurricane is going to be more dangerous than Hurricane Gilbert, so that mean its not going to be anything normal.”
“When Gilbert came, I was 10 years old ... . When me look up in my house and mi nuh see no roof, as a 10-year-old, mi was so frightened ... . Me a tell all de youth dem who nuh see Gilbert fi nuh tek this simple. It better yuh prepare and nothing nuh gwaan.”
Over at Buccaneer Beach (Dead End) – a popular hangout spot for locals and tourists near the Montego Bay Hip Strip and Sangster International Airport – the scene was eerily quiet. Except for two Uruguayan women, the beach was completely deserted.
“We are not scared,” one of the women said, struggling respond in English, their native tongue being Spanish. “We are staying ... . We are not scared.”
Meanwhile, Sangster International Airport was unusually silent. Apart from a few members of the ancillary and security staff, the compound was empty. The usually crowded arrivals area, where families and friends gather to meet incoming passengers, had been converted into a makeshift car park by residents seeking a secure place to leave their vehicles.
One of the few workers on duty, Peter-Gay Morris, said she wasn’t afraid to be at work, describing herself as an essential worker.
“As an essential worker, I have to take the risk to come to work to get the airport clean – spick and span – because that is what we are here for,” explained Morris. “Melissa is a sneaking gal, but I don’t fear her. I experienced Beryl, although I was at home and not at work.”