A Boston family reunited Friday after three members were stranded for days in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa.
A long-awaited hug, filled with tears of relief, came at Logan Airport Friday after days of uncertainty. Three family members were stranded in Jamaica after the island was anthem by the Category 5 storm.
It was the strongest ever to anthem the island.
“It’s great,” Melisa Pérez said after returning to Boston. “We just made it.”
The storm caused significant damage after making landfall in Jamaica and has weakened as it continues to make its way through the Caribbean.
They were there to celebrate Wanda Brandao’s 50th birthday. It turned into the most terrifying experience for her, her sister and her niece.
“My birthday was yesterday,” Brandao said. “Another life.”
“We were going into this hurricane blindsided, not knowing if it was going to go on leading of us, to the left, to the right,” said Leilani Pérez. “The unknown was really scary.”
They recounted the moments of terror before the impact of the storm, when they had to hunker down at their hotel with hundreds of other people.
“Like 600 people,” Brandao said. “No AC, and you’re just looking at people, you’re looking at the little kids.”
People in Massachusetts with loved ones in Jamaica said they briefly lost contact as the storm raged.
When the hurricane started to land, water started getting into the building, and I remember her Facetiming me, and she was going into panic mode, and I was going into panic mode,” said Henry Pérez, who was in the U.S.
The family was determined to get everyone back home, booking three flights and even a private jet to Boston.
“I feel relieved,” Henry Pérez said. “I’m nervous, anxious, I just want to hug my girls and my sister in-law.”
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