When the winds of Hurricane Melissa tore across Jamaica, Brandon Miller was alone inside his crumbling home in Montego Bay, praying for his life.
The 33-year-old, who lost both arms in a 2018 accident, was pinned in place as the roof ripped apart and floodwaters surged through his hallway.
Trees crashed against the building, rain poured in and, with no way to protect himself, Brandon thought the end had come.
“I thought I wasn’t gonna survive… knowing the type of storm it was,” he said. “Category 5. It was something that I’d never experienced in my whole time of living in Jamaica.”
Emergency responders from The Crisis Support Charity and the Jamaica Fire Department, backed by the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), fought through the storm to reach him around 1 pm on Tuesday.
Their rescue effort was coordinated with the help of journalist Noel Phillips, along with Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr and Permanent Secretary Dione Jennings, who intervened to ensure Brandon’s safety was prioritised.
By the time they arrived, Brandon’s home was half-submerged. The roof had caved in, furniture was destroyed and what little he owned - his bed, clothes and appliances -had been washed away.
“My roof came in - the passage and kitchen were gone, the room was leaking, my bed and my devices got wet. It was chaos,” Brandon recalled.
With no close family following his mother’s death earlier this year and no means to afford a carer, Brandon has been left hungry, homeless and vulnerable. He’s crowdfunding for basic needs and, eventually, prosthetic hands.
“I have to give thanks to Almighty God. The place is decimated right now, to be honest.
“Right now, I’m talking to you outside in the cold and the dark; I haven’t eaten anything today - no water, no fresh clothes, because the storm came and destroyed everything.
“I’m not financially stable where I can get a carer to take care of me. I have to try and do things on my own.”
Brandon added: “I don’t really have any government support. It’s been very hectic trying to get help, especially from the government in my country”.
During the height of the hurricane, he said, “things were blowing inside, the roof was blowing off, about a dozen trees dropped on my home.”
“Imagine a person like me living in Jamaica with no help,” he added. “It’s very hectic living without no hands.
Brandon’s story is not just one of survival, but of deep resilience - a man who has been struck by tragedy, yet refuses to give up.
“Knowing that there are still people who show empathy, rescuing me, has given me a change of perspective towards life,” he said.
“Sometimes we need that help to encourage us to live longer because sometimes I really feel depressed - but we, as men, don’t express it sometimes.”
In the days since the storm, Brandon has been sleeping outdoors and struggling to find food and water.
“I don’t have a bed, I don’t have somewhere to sleep comfortable,” he said. “The people who gave me the house are planning to sell the land, and they told me I have to leave soon. So I don’t know where I’ll go next”.
Despite his hardships, his faith remains firm.
“I feel like maybe losing my hands was to show how strong resilience can be. I have to give thanks to Almighty God. I’m still here, and that must mean I have a purpose.”
Hurricane Melissa, now confirmed as Jamaica’s most powerful storm on record, has left at least 28 people dead and thousands displaced.
Communities remain without power, roads are blocked along with access to food, clean water and medical care is limited.
Brandon’s survival is being hailed as a miracle, but it also highlights the urgent humanitarian crisis still unfolding across the island.
His story comes as anger mounts over the slow distribution of aid across Jamaica and Britain’s £7.5 million aid pledge, described by some activists as “insulting, “to support the Caribbean region’s recovery”.
Some of the funding will reportedly be used to match public donations up to £1 million to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, with King Charles and Queen Camilla among those to have donated an undisclosed sum.
For Jamaicans at home and abroad, Brandon’s words echo a shared reality: one of endurance, faith and frustration in the face of systemic neglect.
But hope springs eternal.
“To see people from far away, from the UK, reaching out to me - it puts a warm feeling in my heart,” he said.
“It makes me believe there are still people who care”.
This story is part of Black Current News’ ongoing coverage of recovery and resilience after Hurricane Melissa.
Read our full “How You Can Help” roundup for verified fundraisers, donation drives and community efforts supporting families across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean: blackcurrentnews.co.uk/p/hurricane-melissa-how-can-we-help
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