HURRICANE Melissa has left a horrifying path of destruction in Jamaica – razing towns to the ground and decimating homes, aerial footage shows.
At least seven people have died on the island after the Category Five storm raged through neighbourhoods – uprooting trees and swamping the streets.
Shocking footage shows the harrowing extent of the damage – with trees scattered across the flattened land and torn-off roofs blasted to bits.
Battered homes can be seen barely standing, some missing tiles and others completely torn to shreds.
Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness shared the heartbreaking clips on social media.
He said the region of St Elizabeth was hit worst – adding that its Black River town had been “totally destroyed”.
Holness said: “The damage is great, but we are going to devote all our energy to mount a strong recovery.”
The storm has killed more than 30 people across the Caribbean, with the Red Cross branding it a “disaster of unprecedented catastrophe”.
At least 23 people including 10 children died in Haiti during monstrous flash floods – with 17 injured and another 13 missing, authorities confirmed.
Melissa will go down as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record after dozens drowned amid the horror weather.
The storm first hit Jamaica with the country declaring a “disaster area” after the Category Five hurricane killed three people before it made landfall and then four more after reaching the island.
It then tore through Haiti and Cuba and is expected to arrive in the Bahamas in the early hours of Thursday local time.
Officials fear the death toll will continue to rise with reports of at least another 10 people still missing in Jamaica.
In Cuba more than 735,000 people were evacuated after forecasters said the storm would unleash catastrophic damage.
It has generated a storm surge of up to 12 feet in the region and up to 20 inches of rain.
It was downgraded to a Category Three hurricane as it ripped through Cuba but remained “extremely dangerous” as it crawled towards the Bahamas on Wednesday.
Dubbed “storm of the century”, the 185mph winds caused catastrophic flooding, widespread storm surges and scenes of destruction on Wednesday morning.
A tree fell on a baby in Jamaica, Abka Fitz-Henley, a state minister, told Nationwide News Network.
One person has also died in the Dominican Republic, with at least one other still missing.
Devastating footage showed a collapsed roof at Sangster International Airport after it was hit by the storm.
Landslides, fallen trees and numerous power outages were also reported.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area”.
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15411589/hurricane-melissa-jamaica-cuba/