OCHO RIOS, Jamaica — As one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin takes direct aim at Jamaica, a Louisiana couple from East Feliciana Parish is asking for prayers after their honeymoon turned into an unexpected ordeal. They’re now stranded on the island as powerful Hurricane Melissa closes in.
“Honestly, I wish there was a rescue plane.” Stone Town told UWK, standing outside on the balcony of their resort in Ocho Rios, which is on the northeastern tip of Jamaica. “That would be nice, but it doesn’t seem like we have that option anymore. It’s kind of too late. We’re just nervous.”
Stone and Lexi Town were married on Saturday, Oct. 18, and left for their honeymoon the following Monday, Oct. 20. Just a day later, a tropical wave formed and would soon turn into a monster hurricane.
“We did not know about (Hurricane Melissa) until we got here,” Town said. “We were supposed to go home this past Sunday, but when we heard about the storm, we started trying to get flights out Friday, Saturday, even Sunday, and we just could not get on a flight out of here. Then the flight that we did have, they ended up canceling, so we’ve just been stuck.”
Stone’s dad, who is in East Feliciana Parish, also tried to book any flight to get their his son and daughter-in-law home in time.
“I wish that I could have gotten them out of there earlier. Obviously, that was my biggest goal. We even started talking about it on Friday and started looking at additional flights and there were a couple that I actually pulled the trigger on like, ‘Okay, there’s a flight here. It’s got some seats. They’re not next to one another, but I’m clicking purchase’ and they went away like I would hit purchase, and they would say this flight is no longer available and to please check back later,” Stone’s father Troy Town told UWK.
Melissa became a hurricane on Oct. 25 and rapidly intensified into one of the ten strongest hurricanes ever recorded. The storm, the strongest of the 2025 Atlantic season, is currently making landfall on Jamaica’s southwestern coast, threatening “catastrophic” damage across the island.
The National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory warns: “Catastrophic flash flooding, landslides, and destructive winds will continue through today, causing widespread infrastructure communities. Total structural failure is possible near the path of Melissa’s center. Failure to act may result in serious injury or loss of life.”
The newlyweds from Norwood, Louisiana say conversations with locals have made them even more uneasy.
“Normally, they say everything’s going to be all right and they’re used to this. That’s how it was at first, at least. But now, they’re saying they’re pretty worried. Like on a scale of one to 10, a lot of them are saying a nine or a 10 just because they know what’s coming and so we’re pretty worried,” the husband told UWK.
The Towns are staying at the San Souci Resort, where staff members continue to work despite the dangerous conditions. Several other American couples are also stranded, some from Florida, while others from northern states are experiencing their first hurricane.
“I mean, we haven’t experienced one to this magnitude, but they are very scared,” Lexi Town told UWK.
“Just pray for us. Pray for the islanders. Pray for everybody here. Our family, we love them,” Stone Town added.
Originally assigned a ground-floor room on the beach, the Towns were relocated to a higher floor for safety.
“They’ve got us on the side of a cliff type situation. We’re up pretty high but it’s still nerve wracking because of the winds. With the saturation of the land, it’s already very wet, so we are kind of worried about landslides and whatnot. It’s been raining all week, but on and off so we’re just riding out the storm.
Despite the chaos, the couple says resort staff have been doing everything possible to care for guests and they do have a generator.
“We’re locked in our rooms with water and some snacks and stuff like that. So that’s definitely helpful. They’re not serving food. As of this morning, they said that they would figure out something for lunch and dinner, just because we don’t have meals in our rooms,” Lexi Town said.
With airports closed and flights grounded, the Towns have no choice but to wait out Hurricane Melissa and hope their resort withstands the storm’s full force. Officials say Jamaica’s main airports could sustain major damage, complicating rescue and recovery efforts once the storm passes. Melissa is expected to continue its path northwest toward the Cayman Islands and possibly Cuba in the coming days.
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