More than 25,000 Jamaicans were housed in shelters across the country on Wednesday, as residents cope with the strongest storm in the country’s recorded history. Seventy-five patients were transported to safety from the Black River Hospital, which experienced power outages.
Read more: Why Are We Seeing More Category 5 Hurricanes?
Melissa also wreaked havoc in Montego Bay, St. James, a major tourist destination, devastating a popular restaurant known as Pier One.
At least 25 people were killed in the southern Haitian town of Petit-Goâve when the banks of the La Digue River burst due to flash flooding, causing dozens of homes to collapse.
Jean Bertrand Subrème, the town’s mayor, told the Associated Press he was “overwhelmed by the situation” as he called for the government to help.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was in contact with the governments of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
