Somewhere on the flooded island of
Jamaica, amid the ruin, our aunts,
uncles, cousins of Yvonne and
Owen Stewart, I'm
concerned about my cousins that live in
Montego Bay because they live
a quarter of a mile from the ocean
and they know their houses
got damaged because 20, 20 foot
waves, certainly they're
in trouble.
The Stewarts and their four year old son,
Alexander, vacationed in Jamaica just
three weeks ago.
It was a resort.
It was a vacation spot.
We were out on the beach, in the sun.
It was blue skies.
Now, what we see on the TV today.
Many here have not eaten since Monday.
Reports from the island are grim.
One house in five destroyed,
half a million homeless, 19
known dead.
But the death count is expected to rise.
I'm sure there's areas that they're
not able to get. The homes
collapsed and people are dead.
So I think it's a much
larger than that.
Winds of 115 miles per
hour pounded Jamaica.
The entire island is without running
water, electricity or service of
any kind.
Families like the Stewarts wrestle with
unanswered questions.
Are they OK? Are they safe for they all
are they injured or possibly dead?
You know, you don't know.
It have been awful.
We just said hope
that some of the call
Owen Stewart plans to take the first
commercial flight he can get to Jamaica,
but that could be more than a week.
Only emergency relief planes are being
allowed on the island now.
Red Cross workers say Jamaica is in dire
need of clothing and medicine, food for
the starving and tents for tens
of thousands who remain homeless.
Cindy Kuykendall, Channel 5 News.