We Are in Jamaica During Hurricane Melissa; How We Keep Kids Calm

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ines Pacheco. It has been edited for length and clarity.

It’s very scary. The storm is intense, but we’re safe. The house we are in is made of concrete with a slab roof, and we did a lot of preparatory work. Currently, there are eight of us here: my husband, me, our two girls, ages 4 and 6, our nanny and her two children, ages 10 and 13, and a gardener from our community whose roof is made of zinc, which offers less protection. Plus a dog and a cat.

We’re just waiting it out and doing a lot of mopping.

We are in the Blue Mountains outside Kingston, where even normal rain can trigger landslides. Because hurricanes come with notice, we’ve been talking to the kids for days about what to expect — lots of scary sounds, bad weather, and the importance of staying calm and listening. We were here for Hurricane Beryl last year, so they are familiar with some of the signs, but this is much worse. We don’t sugarcoat it as a little rainstorm, but we keep it age-appropriate.

Neighbors take care of each other where we are

They heard “life-threatening floods” on the news and latched onto that phrase. I told them that’s why we stay home and follow directions — so we’ll be OK. One thing about Jamaica is that, in my experience, neighbors take care of each other, and I keep telling them that.

We stocked up on food and supplies. We already have a deep freezer and an extra freezer full. I also make school lunches for our local schools, so I had a lot of stock on hand. I’ve been repurposing it to feed everyone.

Time is strange now. Up here in the hills, it started raining on Friday and hasn’t really stopped. The wind gusts picked up on Saturday. Kingston felt it more at landfall today, but in the mountains, the wind has been something to behold, especially at night. We’re in a community chat with neighbors sharing photos and road updates; some are already blocked. We might be here for a week or more.

We keep the kids’ routines despite Hurricane Melissa

With the kids, routine helps. On weekends at home, we like to sit down for meals together three times a day, so we’re doing that now. We have regular mealtimes and talk like it’s a normal day, even though it isn’t. The girls are generally having fun — a full table, older kids to idolize. When the wind howls, they get scared, and we comfort them, reminding them that we’re safe.

We’ve been losing power here and there, so we ration device time to keep everything charged. I’ll say, “OK, iPads down — Uno or Bananagrams.” But it’s also like being on an airplane: some rules go out the window. If they want chocolate cookies at 8 a.m., fine. We’re all just trying to survive.

I won’t pretend I’m calm. I’ve had moments where I feel like I’m going to throw up from fear. I’m not a natural optimist, but I keep reminding myself: we are OK. The house might take on water, and some things might break, but we are OK. I try to bring that energy to the kids because they emulate what they see. If they see me scared, they’ll be scared. So I tell them, “We’re OK. People are protecting each other.”

I’m proud of how they’re handling it — tiny troopers. For now, we’ll continue to mop, cook, charge devices when possible, play games, and eat together. We’ll listen for updates, check on neighbors, and wait for the storm to pass.