MANY families in Huddersfield are waiting anxiously to hear from relatives in the hurricane-hit West Indian islands of Grenada and Carriacou.
Hurricane Ivan left Grenada a wasteland of flattened houses, twisted metal and splintered wood and is now bearing down on Jamaica with deadly winds and monstrous waves.
The Jamaican government has ordered 500,000 people to flee their homes.
About 800 British holidaymakers have been rushed from Jamaica to the Dominican Republic.
Mina Gay, of Paddock, is one of many Huddersfield people trying to get through to relatives, but phones lines were down.
She said: "It is just a case of waiting, but I am told the damage in Carriacou is not as bad as in Grenada.
"My brother and my mother still have houses in Carriacou, so I will be trying to get in touch to make sure they are all right. I think a lot of house roofs have been blown off.
"I also have cousins in Grenada, which has been very badly hit," she added.
As owner of The Rumboat restaurant in Northumberland Street she said she was planning to have some kind of fundraising event to help the people who had been left without homes.
" But she added: "My first concern now is making sure my loved ones are all fine."
The death toll in the Caribbean stood at 23 today and is expected to rise.
Ivan, a Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 150mph, is expected to hit on Jamaica this evening.
The hurricane devastated Grenada on Tuesday, tossing boats against the shore and tearing apart buildings - and setting off frenzies of looting.
"The destruction is worse than I've ever seen," said Michael Steele, a 34-year-old resident whose home was destroyed. "We're left with nothing."
British troops helped clear the airport and ferried in supplies, such as drinking water. They also treated 100 people at a hospital.
