Bishop John Noonan | Diocese of Orland website

Jamaica is facing the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which struck with winds reaching 185 mph. Caregiver Nateena Brown, from St. Elizabeth, described her experience as the storm approached and hit her hometown.

“I started to brace myself,” Brown said. She recalled how the winds intensified on October 28, 2025. “Even now that it’s passed, when I’m lying down, I can hear the breeze,” she said while holding back tears.

Brown stayed inside with windows boarded up for safety. She described hearing the Category 5 hurricane’s winds as unlike anything before. During the peak of the storm, some boards were blown off and a window shattered while she was trying to hold it in place with her hands. She was not injured.

The Diocese of Orlando was established in 1968 and oversees 79 parishes, 11 missions, two basilicas, and 43 Catholic schools in central Florida counties including Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia. The diocese is led by Bishop James Noonan.