Death toll from Hurricane Melissa climbs to 49, with many still missing

49 people have already been killed by Hurricane Melissa, but that number is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue to traverse the northern Caribbean’s trail of destruction.

At least 30 people died and 20 were missing, according to Haitian authorities on Thursday. The lumbering storm caused days of torrential rains to the impoverished country, which was not directly affected. The Reuters news agency reports 19 fatalities in Jamaica, according to Reuters. Before the hurricane made landfall elsewhere, one death has been reported in the Dominican Republic.

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One of the strongest Atlantic storms ever, Melissa, made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of up to 295 kilometres per hour (183 miles per hour). According to government officials, the hurricane did not directly hit Kingston, but it did strike Jamaica’s western side, causing “devastation.”

Melissa then made contact with Cuba, moving along a Category 3 hurricane, before cutting off its path on Wednesday night. According to the US National Hurricane Center, it will pass close to Bermuda and be within 60 kilometers (37 miles).

Even though the storm’s strength has steadily decreased over the past week, it has caused destructive winds, rain, and flooding in the Caribbean.

Although neither the island of Hispaniola and Haiti, which share it, were directly hit, neither country’s island nor the Dominican Republic, reported heavy flooding.

Although the eastern half of Cuba was heavily impacted by strong winds, Reuters reported no deaths in Cuba as of yet.

According to the newswire, hundreds of thousands of people in the Caribbean are still without power, including 70% of Jamaica’s electricity users.

Local authorities are assessing the extent of the damage done to the infrastructure, including power lines and downed trees.

UN Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu claims that the island has experienced “never before” devastation despite preliminary assessments for Jamaica, where UN agencies claim they are still calculating the damage caused by Melissa.

The US Disaster Assistance Response Team has been assigned by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to assist Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Cuba, according to a statement released by the US State Department on Thursday.