Summerville, South Carolina – Adam and Jordan Simmons of Summerville’s fantasy honeymoon abruptly turned into a fight to get home.
The couple landed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in late September, expecting a week of sun and festivities. However, just a few days into their journey, Tropical Storm Melissa intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, bringing devastating winds, heavy rain, and a deadly storm surge that ravaged much of the island.
“It was always supposed to stay north,” Jordan explained. “We thought we might get some rain, but not this.”
Within hours, the situation deteriorated. Airports were closed, flights were canceled, and thousands of passengers were stranded. As the hurricane approached, the Simmons were urged to seek cover at their resort.
For at than 28 hours, they and hundreds of other people waited in an indoor shelter as the storm passed. Power and air conditioning failed, glass cracked in surrounding buildings, and connection with the outside world became practically impossible.
“There were certain parts of the shelter where glass was breaking,” Adam told me. “You could hear the wind whistling through the plywood.”
Jordan stated that resort employees risked their own safety to keep visitors calm and engaged.
“They were climbing up on the roof trying to keep the Wi-Fi working so we could update people,” she told me. “They were incredible.”
The storm caused significant devastation throughout Jamaica. According to Jamaican officials, Hurricane Melissa inflicted over $4 billion in damage and killed at least 28 persons.
Jordan’s mother, Karrie Spears, was anxious to hear that her daughter and son-in-law were safe. Wi-Fi had been out for nearly an entire day, leaving her in the dark. The sole message she received was from an unusual number, which simply stated, “Jordan is alive and safe.”
“I had to send a text to my mom that I was alive,” Jordan told me. “When she responded, I simply started bawling. It wasn’t even about what we went through; I just needed to tell someone I was still alive.”
Following the storm, the couple discovered that the damage to Montego Bay’s airport meant that commercial aircraft were grounded indefinitely. Determined to return home, they began contacting anybody who could assist, including government agencies, parliamentarians, and private rescue organizations.
They eventually communicated with a group named Black Flag Response and Graybull Rescue, which were managing evacuations from the island. Jordan stated that she spent hours phoning and pushing other tourists to register.
“We started going door to door,” she said. “We told people, ‘If we get enough names, they’ll send a bus for us.'”
The next day, Jordan received a call confirming that a bus was on its way to pick them up.
“They said, ‘We’ve got 16 seats. “Can you fill them in two minutes?” she asked. “I said, ‘Yes,’ and we ran room to room.”
Jordan expressed her disbelief as the bus approached.
“We saw this run-down bus with the lights flashing and the weakest little horn ever,” she told us. “The driver came out and said, ‘Take a breath.'” You are going to get home. “I just fell into the van.”
The party of 18 persons began an arduous, hour-long journey to Kingston. They drove past downed power lines, destroyed homes, and flooded roads, often unsure whether they had enough gas to make it.
“There were so many hills and mountains,” Adam explained. “It was more than a three-hour drive, not counting the debris and road closures.”
When they got in Kingston, there were already hundreds of travelers waiting. Some slept on the airport floor while they waited for approval to depart. The rescue flight was delayed for hours due to paperwork complications, but the pair finally boarded a plane to safety.
Now back in Summerville, the Simmons say they are still processing their experience.
“I try to be strong,” Adam explained. “But I’ve experienced some nights where sleeping is like a nightmare. For a while, you believe it wasn’t real or didn’t happen. But then you consider the folks who have lost everything.
The pair says they are grateful to be home, but they are heartbroken for people they have left behind. Many resort employees have stayed in touch, keeping them informed of the island’s gradual rehabilitation.
“They kept saying, ‘Can I help you?'” Jordan stated. “I told them, ‘No, you sit with us and take a break.'” Some of them had not slept for two days.
Adam stated that the vacation impacted their viewpoint.
“We were talking to people who lost every single thing,” he told me. “And here we are, moaning about not having Wi-Fi or having to leave our bags behind. “It really puts things into perspective.”
The Simmons now intend to collaborate with their church to give supplies to the resort workers who assisted in keeping them safe.
“I think we were meant to be there,” Jordan stated. “If we could help even a few people get out, then something good came out of all of it.”
