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Olympian Dawn Harper-Nelson and husband stranded in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa batters the island: ‘This is mayhem’
Two-time Olympian Dawn Harper-Nelson is in Jamaica facing Hurricane Melissa, which has broken records before making landfall.
Dawn Harper-Nelson, a two-time Olympian and resident of East St. Louis, is preparing for Hurricane Melissa's adverse effects in Jamaica. The storm has already shattered a number of records even before hitting the island with record-breaking 175 mph winds.
In a social media post, Dawn and her husband, Alonzo Nelson, stated that the hurricane formed while they were in Jamaica for a business meeting. Due to hazardous weather, their flight, which was initially scheduled to depart on October 26, was canceled.
The pair's video showed a map that indicated they were close to St. Bran's Burg on the island's northwest coast.
Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica
The hurricane impacted the southwest part of Jamaica, close to Whitehouse. It is anticipated that areas in Montego Bay, particularly St. Bran's Burg, would sustain damage from extremely powerful gusts close to the hurricane's eyewall.
According to reports, Jamaica erected about 900 shelters on the island, but just a few hundred people have arrived. The pair expressed concern about how the evacuation would be handled after moving to the local shelter on Monday, Ksdk.com reported.
'I'm shocked,' says Dawn Harper-Nelson
In another video that was uploaded to Facebook, Dawn stated, “I'm just shocked. I'm shocked.”
“This is straight mayhem... I wasn't ready, and this is just adding to the anxiety,” she added.
Dawn won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, silver at the 2012 London Olympics, and silver at the 2017 World Championships. She was an expert in the 100-meter hurdles. She also made a comeback as an NBC analyst during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Meanwhile, the Jamaica Public Service reported that tens of thousands of households and businesses on the island remained without electricity.
The hurricane might turn out to be the worst storm the nation has ever seen.
According to the NHC, heavy downpours could result in 15 to 30 inches of rain, with isolated areas potentially receiving up to 40 inches. They are also anticipated to cause fatal landslides in the island's hilly topography.
