Hurricane Melissa has blasted across the Caribbean, leaving 30 dead or missing in Haiti and four dead in Jamaica.
"I am saddened to announce that four persons - three men and one woman - have been confirmed dead by the police in St Elizabeth.
"They were discovered after being washed up by the flood waters generated by the hurricane," Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica's Minister Local Government and Community Development, said in a press release.
Headed for the Bahamas and Bermuda as a weakened but still threatening storm, Melissa left behind "unprecedented" devastation in Jamaica, according to a UN official, and untold misery to Cuba.
Watch: Drone footage captures damage left by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica fishing village
"It has been a very difficult early morning," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on social media, citing "extensive damage" on the communist island battling its worst economic crisis in decades.
Residents in Cuba's east struggled through flooded and collapsed homes and inundated streets, with windows smashed, power cables downed and roofs and tree branches torn off amid intense winds.
Some carried loved ones unable to walk for themselves and arms full of quickly gathered belongings.
Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 195km per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), which urged residents to "remain sheltered" even as the storm left the island headed north.
"In the Bahamas, residents should remain sheltered," the center warned, and in Bermuda, "preparations should be underway and be completed before anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds",
In Jamaica, UN resident coordinator Dennis Zulu told reporters Melissa had brought "tremendous, unprecedented devastation of infrastructure, of property, roads, network connectivity".
Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the tropical island famed for tourism a "disaster area" but said there have yet to be confirmed deaths caused by the storm.
"Our teams are on the ground working tirelessly to rescue, restore, and bring relief where it's needed most... To every Jamaican, hold strong. We will rebuild, we will recover," he said on X.
Pope Leo offered prayers from the Vatican, while the United States said it was in close contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
"We have rescue and response teams heading to affected areas along with critical lifesaving supplies. Our prayers are with the people of the Caribbean," Secretary of State Marcu Rubio said on X, without mentioning ideological foe Cuba.
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'Disaster area'
At least 20 people in southern Haiti, including 10 children, were killed in floods, according to civil defence agency head Emmanuel Pierre. Ten more were missing.
In the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, officials said that a 79-year-old man was found dead after being swept away in a stream.
Hurricane Melissa tied the 1935 record for the most intense storm ever to make landfall when it battered Jamaica yesterday, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a "disaster area" as residents faced more flooding and a risk of landslides.
Lisa Sangster, a 30-year-old communications specialist in Kingston, said her home was devastated.
"My sister... explained that parts of our roof was blown off and other parts caved in and the entire house was flooded," she said.
Watch: Satellite footage shows Melissa crossing over Jamaica
Communications down
In the Cuban town of El Cobre, rescue workers attempted to reach 17 people, including children and elderly people, trapped by rising floodwaters and a landslide, according to state media.
"We are safe and trying to stay calm," rheumatologist Lionnis Francos, one of those stranded, told the official news site Cubadebate.
"The rescuers arrived quickly. They called us, but couldn't cross because the road is blocked."
The full scale of Melissa's damage is not yet clear. A comprehensive assessment could take days, with communications networks badly disrupted across the region.
Jamaican government minister Desmond McKenzie said several hospitals were damaged, including in Saint Elizabeth, a coastal district he said was "underwater".
Many homes were destroyed, and about 25,000 people sought refuge in shelters.
Mr McKenzie said no deaths had been confirmed in Jamaica, though situation reports were still coming in.
"It is not going to be an easy road, Jamaica. We have seen the extent of the damage. It is going to take a lot of time," he added.
On Monday, officials in Jamaica said three people had died while preparing for the storm, cutting tree branches and working on ladders.
Mathue Tapper, 31, from Kingston said those in the capital were "lucky" but feared for fellow Jamaicans in the island's more rural western areas.
Due to climate change, warmer sea surface temperatures inject more energy into storms, boosting their intensity with stronger winds and more precipitation.
"Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse," said climate scientist Daniel Gilford.
Watch: 'Hurricane hunters' tracked Melissa from the inside as it bore down on Jamaica
The Jamaican Red Cross, which was distributing drinking water and hygiene kits ahead of infrastructure disruptions, said Melissa's "slow nature" exacerbated the anxiety.
The UN is planning an airlift of some 2,000 relief kits to Jamaica from a relief supply station in Barbados once air travel is possible.
Assistance is also planned to other impacted countries including Cuba and Haiti, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists.
Jamaican officials said around 25,000 tourists were in the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged Irish citizens to heed the instructions of local authorties.
Watch: Broadcaster Emily Shields describes the impact of Hurricane Melissa from her base in Kingston, Jamaica
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