Jamaica's Hurricane Aftermath Labelled 'Staggering' by Music Star Sean Paul

International music artist Sean Paul has stated that the enormity of the relief work needed in the wake of Hurricane Melissa is truly overwhelming.

The award-winning performer characterized the Category Five storm as "extremely frightening, particularly for my children."

"It was the first instance they witnessed trees dance like that and the wind move like that," he explained. "They remain shocked still, and traumatized. And can you imagine the children who are in the epicentre of it? It seems like you're in the Middle Ages."

Winds of up to 185mph (295 km/h) resulted in at least 28 deaths. Paul and his family were in the capital Kingston, while areas further west suffered the most severe damage.

Personal Experience and Local Impact

He stated: "It is really hard to endure. We weren't hit in Kingston very hard, but it was scary. And one wonders, at any minute now is there going to be, you know, some tree that falls and slaps your roof off?"

"That happened to friends of mine in Montego Bay. They've lost their whole roof, and they remain in the trenches helping people there, making sure that food reaches and garments are delivered to [people]. Everyone's belongings is all muddied up and it's difficult to think about something positive at this time."

The artist has committed $50,000 (£38,000) to double donations to Food For The Poor Jamaica, and described the devastation as "an extremely astonishing situation."

"After days and days of communication and trying to assist in different ways, on Saturday I broke down," he said.

"It is simply the amount of energy it takes, and the depression that starts to take hold, and then you have to shake yourself out of it because there's just so much to be done that we haven't even tipped the iceberg yet."

Widespread Difficulties and Humanitarian Situation

He added: "It's immense. I myself took a drive to the country yesterday, the outskirts of St Mary, which was not hit as hard, but still impacted. They don't have light yet, and a lot of people out there can't even see the rest of what's happening, because once they get charge on their phone, they're just trying to call family to make sure that they're OK."

Many individuals "are unaware that people are helping them, because a lot of the time they're not able to see these footage of people preparing stuff to dispatch there," he noted.

"Very little has been actually delivered... There's still blocked areas, pathways that are destroyed."

"I recently learned of a story of 15 babies that were under three months old, but they're sleeping in cardboard boxes right now. So it's a terrible situation, and we're trying to provide assistance out there as as best we can."

Another Artist Engages in Relief Initiatives

Another Jamaican artist, Shaggy, has also been co-ordinating relief efforts on the island, delivering essentials to locals via small convoys.

When asked how he felt about what had happened, he said: "Heartbroken. I don't think I can forget what I've seen... It's difficult, there's a lot of assistance coming in."

"No one could really get ready for something like that."

"We got into the Black River area, which was struck severely. Everything is leveled. It is devastating. I was moved to tears. These are my community."

He continued: "I've never seen anything like this, it looks like a bomb went off."

Upcoming Initiatives for Support

Sean Paul said: "Shaggy has reached out to me, a acquaintance of mine in the business, and he is trying to organize a concert in December. It's a long term thing, so we don't want to hold it next week where few people will know about it. It has to be later where we can publicize it."