A Group of Americans Are Trapped in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa Barrels Towards the Island

A Jamaican getaway seems poised to turn into a nightmare for a couple of yoga enthusiasts who have found themselves stuck on the island as Hurricane Melissa prepares to make landfall.

The women, who have been documenting their misadventure on TikTok, say that they attempted to evacuate ahead of the storm, but their flights were canceled before they could get out, leaving them with no choice but to find a safe place to shelter as they wait to see how things play out.

Unfortunately for them and everyone else on the island, as the storm gets ready to make landfall on Oct. 28, 2025, experts predict that Melissa will make landfall as a record-breaking Category 5 storm, producing some of the most significant winds and pressure changes that have ever been seen in a hurricane in this region.

Sadly, those same experts say that Jamaica is likely going to be fundamentally changed after Melissa moves onto her next target. Here's how the yoga enthusiasts are preparing.

A group of friends from Florida found themselves stuck in Jamaica's Montego Bay after the local airports canceled all remaining flights out of the area on Oct. 27. One of the women, Nicole Doyon, has been documenting the trip on her TikTok, letting her followers know exactly what's happening as the situation continues to unfold in the resort town.

She began posting about the group's plight on Oct. 25 under the handle @nicole_doyon, asking her followers for help getting out of the country.

After that, Doyon posted two dozen more videos about her experience, covering everything from the very serious job of finding a suitable place to ride out the storm in the resort where the group is staying, to a hilarious video of everyone's "hurricane fit checks."

TikToker syddyoungyoga has also been sharing updates with her followers, describing how the group feels good during the calm before the storm.

But, just because the ladies seem to have their sense of humor intact, it doesn't mean that they aren't seriously worried. Afterall, the group is located in an area that is expected to be hard hit by Melissa.

Additionally, it seems like they're getting some negative feedback from the way they are handling the situation, prompting syddyoungyoga to remind her followers that they are only seeing part of the experience being shared by these women.

As such, they've hunkered down in a wine cellar in the resort. The women are sharing the space with other people at the villa, and they made makeshift beds on the floor and created an improvised bathroom to make the small space livable until the storm moves out.

Doyon's last post was shared the night before the storm was expected to hit, and she told her followers that they were already relying on the generator, and that service had begun to go in and out.

As of the time of publication, Melissa was still a Category 5 storm, with 185 mile per hour sustained winds, according to the New York Times. These winds are stronger than what Hurricane Katrina reached at its peak, highlighting the danger Jamaica is facing as Melissa's eyewall approaches.

While there is still time for the storm to shift, experts believe that central Jamaica and the eastern coast will miss the worst of the storm's deadly winds, flooding, and landslides.