The government has reported that 25 communities up to Monday were still marooned in the wake of the destructive Category 5 storm Melissa, which hit the western end of the island on Tuesday, October 28.

Pearnel Charles Jnr, Minister of Labour and Social Security, made the disclosure Monday during a press briefing to update the nation on relief efforts for the badly affected areas.

The minister said that care packages are being air-dropped by the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). Charles said more than 30,000 food packages, tarpaulins and other relief supplies have been delivered to over 17 communities between Sunday and Monday.

“This hurricane has tested our nation in ways that we could not have imagined. Being on the ground, walking with the team, you get to truly understand that we have communities completely cut off. We have houses that have been swallowed up.

“We have lives that have been uprooted in several parishes. And we’ve seen and we’ve felt the heartbreak of the families and the people that are trapped, those that are hungry, those who are uncertain, but I want them to be assured that we are working assiduously with all of our partners to provide relief as quickly as possible,” said Charles Jnr.

He said yesterday, members of the Jamaica Defence Force, supported by international partners, risked their lives to carry out evacuation missions, rescuing those who are sick in about four areas with air lifts that have been activated.