Jamaican-Americans in Florida nervous as Hurricane Beryl heads towards island

Floridians worried about loved ones in Beryl’s path

Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans live in Florida. Many are concerned for their loved ones who are in the path of Hurricane Beryl, which is expected to impact Jamaica by late Wednesday. FOX 13’s Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - David Luckain is so proud of his Jamaican restaurant on West Waters Avenue in Tampa that he's opening a second one on the east side of town.

"We want to make a Jamaican oasis in Tampa," said Luckain. "So, you could just tap into it whenever you want to."

However, Luckain's native country is facing the threat of a major hurricane as it barrels towards the island of 3 million people, which includes his aunts, uncles and cousins. Luckain is one of 311,000 Jamaicans living in Florida.

LATEST: Hurricane Beryl slightly weakens, downgraded to Category 4 storm

"There is not much you can do if you don't have much," he said. "It's not like here in America where you can go get sandbags and then pull the shutters down. There are no shutters."

His daughter survived [Hurricane Beryl's] landfall without a scratch in St. Lucia, though they did lose power and communication for several hours. His relatives in Jamaica live within a mile of the shore.

"In Jamaica, we consider everyone family," he said. "So, we are concerned for the whole entire island."

Judy Johnson, a paralegal from Tampa who moved from Jamaica when she was 12 years old, is concerned her family members are not aware of Beryl's full force.

READ: Hurricane Beryl's impacts could force long-term itinerary changes for major cruise lines

"They're used to storms coming through there," she said. "But, I don't think they get the gist of how hard this one is coming at them."

She said one relative told her she is trying to secure her roof by putting heavy objects on it.

While not everyone's home is built in sturdy fashion, some are. She's hoping the entire island holds up, which is fragile in so many ways.

"They're used to having to rebuild if they have to," she said. "But, it depends on where it impacts. "The roads can get washed away. And they have a lot of hills and mountains, landslides, all kinds of things. So there's lots of danger for them."

Hurricane Beryl is expected to weaken slightly as it moves towards Jamaica, but the prime minister of Grenada said the island was flattened in a half hour. At least five people have been confirmed killed in Grenada, but that number could go higher.

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