ROWE’S CORNER, Manchester — When Hixford Thompson turned up to his business place at Rowe’s Corner in south Manchester on Thursday, a day after Hurricane Beryl battered southern Jamaica, he was shocked to see the entire roof of his exotic club gone.

Thompson, the operator of Santa Barbara night club located on the Alligator Pond main road said he had never seen such devastation from a hurricane before.

“When I got here I saw everything gone. The top [roof] came off, so I have to start from front to back and everything have to go right through from floor to top [to repair],” said Thompson.

“This is the first time I have experienced something like this happening here. This is the first time I ever come and see my building, the roof, gone completely. Everything gone,” added Thompson.

He underscored what most people in central and southern Jamaica experienced, that the wind associated with the Category 4 hurricane was powerful.

“It was very terrible. It blew the breeze so hard you couldn’t even listen to it to how strong it was. The breeze was for long, it blew under the roof and water came in at my house,” said Thompson.