Raleigh police officer awaits word from family in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastation

Raleigh police officer Raul Francis calls his family almost daily. 

After Monday, those calls have gone unanswered. Francis is trying to reach his parents in Jamaica and hasn’t heard from them since Hurricane Melissa left a path of destruction across the island nation. 

“It just keeps ringing,” Francis said. 

Melissa made landfall this week as a powerful Category 5 hurricane.

“I’m pretty much concerned,” Francis said. “However, I believe they are OK. It’s just that they don’t have power or internet service at this time.”

It’s a reality that many people in North Carolina with ties to Jamaica are facing. 

Jamaican native and Rocky Mount resident Zabdiel Dawar got good news Thursday, days after the storm hit. 

Minutes before an interview with WRAL News, Dawar received a long-awaited call from his mother in Jamaica letting him know she is doing well. 

“I was just screaming when I saw mommy’s face,” Dawar said. “My mother is a praying lady, and she said during the entire ordeal that’s all she did was pray.” 

Francis prays for a similar call and, in the meantime, is still answering calls for service. 

“Even though I have my family on my mind, hoping that they’re OK, I still have to be levelheaded and try to make sure I’m focusing on the job at hand,” Francis said. 

Francis hopes he’ll hear from loved ones soon as the destruction comes into better focus. 

“I just want them to know that I love them, and I hope they’re OK,” Francis said. “That’s pretty much the most important thing right now.”

The Associated Press has put together a guide on how to help hurricane victims in Jamaica.