Jamaican music artist Sean Paul has expressed that the enormity of the relief work needed in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane is truly overwhelming.
The Grammy-winning singer described the Category Five storm as "very frightening, particularly for my children."
"That's the first time they witnessed trees sway violently like that and the wind move like that," he explained. "They remain shocked still, and deeply affected. And can you imagine the children who are in the epicentre of it? It feels like you're in the a bygone era."
Winds of up to 185mph (295 km/h) resulted in at least 28 deaths. Paul and his family were in the city of Kingston, while areas further west endured the greatest damage.
Personal Account and Local Effects
He stated: "It is really hard to endure. We weren't hit in Kingston very hard, but it was scary. And you're wondering, 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 entirely their whole roof, and they remain in the trenches assisting people there, making sure that supplies reaches and clothes reach [people]. Everybody's stuff is all covered in mud and it's hard to think about something positive at this time."
Paul has committed $50,000 (£38,000) to match donations to a local relief charity, and labeled the destruction as "a very mind-blowing situation."
"Following several days and days of outreach and trying to help out in different ways, on Saturday I became overwhelmed," he said.
"It is simply the amount of effort it takes, and the depression that starts to take hold, and then you have to pull yourself out of it because there's so very much to be done that we haven't even tipped the iceberg yet."
Extensive Challenges and Humanitarian Situation
He added: "It is immense. I myself drove to the rural areas yesterday, the countryside of St Mary, which was less affected as hard, but still hit. They are without light yet, and a lot of people out there can't even see the rest of what's happening, because once they recharge on their phone, they're just trying to contact loved ones to make sure that they're OK."
Some people "are unaware that people are assisting them, because a lot of the time they're not able to see these videos of people preparing stuff to dispatch there," he noted.
"And so little has been truly distributed... There's still blocked areas, roads that are destroyed."
"I just heard a story of fifteen infants that were less than three months old, but they're resting in cardboard boxes right now. So it's a heartbreaking situation, and we're trying to provide assistance out there as much as possible."
Another Artist Engages in Aid Initiatives
Another Jamaican music star, Shaggy, has also been co-ordinating aid efforts on the island, delivering necessary items to locals via vehicle fleets.
When asked how he felt about what had happened, he said: "Heartbroken. I don't believe 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 hit severely. Everything is flattened. It is devastating. I was moved to tears. These are my people."
He added: "I've never seen anything like this, it looks like a bomb exploded."
Future Plans for Assistance
Sean Paul said: "My colleague has contacted to me, a acquaintance of mine in the business, and he is trying to hold a benefit event in December. It's a long term thing, so we prefer not to schedule it next week where no one will know about it. It has to be later where we can publicize it."
