Hurricane Melissa is finally leaving the Caribbean after battering communities in Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba for days, leaving a trail of devastation that killed about 50 people.
The hurricane smashed into Jamaica with enormous force on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm, and residents were assessing their losses and the long road to recovery on Friday.
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- list 3 of 4Death toll from Hurricane Melissa climbs to 49, with many still missing
- list 4 of 4Residents scramble for supplies in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa
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More than 60 percent of Jamaica remains without power, and nearly half of its water systems are offline.
In the historic seaside town of Black River, in southwest Jamaica, up to 90 percent of all structures were left without roofs, while the storm also snapped power lines and toppled concrete structures.
“People are hungry,” said Monique Powell as she stood watch over a stash of groceries and household items for herself and a group of residents from Greenfield, one of many hurricane-torn communities on the outskirts of Black River.
“Everything is gone,” said Michelle Barnes as she and her 13-year-old daughter secured their portion of handouts from local food establishments that were giving away their goods, many of which had become water-soaked and damaged.
The storm, one of the most powerful ever recorded, was made four times more likely because of human-caused climate change, according to a study by Imperial College London.
Trail of deaths
Jamaica’s Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon told a briefing that authorities had “quite credible” reports of a potential five additional deaths, but had not yet been able to confirm.
“We’re still at 19 confirmed, but we do expect that will change today,” she said.
In nearby Haiti, authorities reported at least 31 people killed and 21 others missing, mostly in the country’s southern region. More than 15,800 people also remained in shelters.
No deaths were reported in Cuba as of Friday, where the civil defence evacuated more than 735,000 people across the eastern part of the island and where dangerous flooding continued in some areas on Friday.
Disaster bonds and climate finance
Although the full cost of Jamaica’s recovery is not yet known, the Caribbean cou