Death and destruction have been left in the wake of Hurricane Melissa as it swept through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in more than 150 years. The hurricane destroyed houses and infrastructure, flooded the neighborhoodand left behind dozens of dead.

At least 30 people died – although the actual toll has yet to be determined, with authorities still estimating the number of victims. The impact in Jamaica was clearer on Wednesday, where at least five people have been confirmed dead there. At least 20 more people have died during floods in Haiti.

In Jamaicapeople remain trapped on rooftops and without power. THE Prime Minister Andrew Holness he spoke of “total devastation” across the island nation and added that “80-90% of roofs were destroyed”, along with hospitals, libraries, police stations, port houses and other urban infrastructure.

King Charles, who is Jamaica’s head of state, said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” and “deeply saddened” by the damage Melissa had caused in Jamaica and the entire Caribbean.

bees

“The conditions here are disastrous. “Devastating” is an understatement based on what we’re seeing here,” Richard Solomon, mayor of Black River in southwestern Jamaica, said in a video released by Jamaica Police. About 140,000 people were stranded as the storm battered the island, according to the government.

From Jamaica, where the storm also caused mudslides and downed palm trees, Melissa moved north toward Cuba as a Category Three storm, bringing winds of 115 mph and heavy rain to the southeast of the island. More than 735,000 people fled their homes in Cuba as Melissa approached, according to the country’s president Miguel Diaz-Canel, while in the Bahamas, preliminary estimates show 1,485 residents were evacuated before all flights were grounded in anticipation of the incoming storm.

bees

Evacuation orders were also issued for six islands in the Bahamas.

About three-quarters of Jamaica was left without power overnight. Richard Vernon, mayor of Montego Bay, told the BBC that half the town had been cut off from the other by the flooding. He said the priority was “to check that everyone is alive”.

bees

In Haiti, devastating floods and landslides forced 3,000 people into shelters.

“Many houses have been washed ashore,” said Pascal Bimengymana of the Christian NGO World Relief in Port-au-Prince. Roofs were also blown away by the strong winds and people were clearing debris with their bare hands. Torrential winds, heavy rain and flooding destroyed crops across the southern part of the country.

bees

The US is sending a disaster response team to Jamaica to assess the scale of post-hurricane needs. Official requests for assistance have come from Haiti and the Bahamas, according to senior State Department officials.

Hurricane Melissa is not expected to make landfall in North America, but will remain a formidable extratropical cyclone when it approaches St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada on Friday night.

bees