Connecticut residents fear for safety of friends and family in Jamaica during Hurricane Beryl

"

With Hurricane Beryl bringing reported 140 mph winds to Jamaica, thousands of people across the state spent Wednesday worrying about their friends and family. "It's a bit scary, not knowing how they're going to fair out," admitted Archie Chamberlain, who lives in Norwalk, but has two brothers in Jamaica. Like most of the people in the area, Chamberlain was trying his best to follow what was going on, saying besides talking to both brothers earlier in the day, he was monitoring two of his favorite local Jamaican TV channels. Others, like Lloyd Mellada, who has homes in both Norwalk and Jamaica, said he had been "texting people, FaceTiming people, all that good stuff, nonstop all day." While they were hoping to get an early start on their holiday weekend, the people behind the counter as Osu Jerk Grill in Norwalk had been busy working all day. Workers like Bria-Janai Frith, who has multiple family members, including her father, in Jamaica, said that was almost a blessing in disguise, since "if I was home, I'd be on my phone constantly, seeing things about it." Server Rojaie Francis also said work had been forcing him to keep his worry bottled up a bit, telling News 12 "it's definitely nice having a lot of things to distract me, moving around a lot today. It keeps your mind off things. My grandmothers up there in age, and I want her to be alright." Most said they were just looking forward to the morning, when they would know the storm had passed, and everyone made it. "I'll breathe a little sigh of relief," Francis said. Chamberlain agreed, saying in the morning, "I'll feel a little more ok, you know, confident that they pulled through." After that, the focus will be on repairs. People we talked to said they expected poorer areas and businesses to be hit the hardest. "