MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — For Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie Anne-Sayles and State Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins, helping Jamaica recover from Hurricane Melissa is deeply personal.

“My mother’s in Jamaica, she’s in her 80’s, retired and she usually spends time down there," Anne-Sayles revealed. "For a whole week, I could not hear from my mother.”

“I was actually born in the aftermath of Hurricane Gilbert that came in 1988, so you’ll hear in a lot of the coverage people comparing Hurricane Gilbert to now,” Wilkins said.

Last week’s storm ripped through the Caribbean, with winds reaching up to 185 mph.

So far, 83 people have been confirmed dead across four countries.

35 of those deaths were in Jamaica.

The hurricane destroyed buildings and left roads in ruin throughout the Western

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