John Morrison, Public Information Officer for the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team is part of a U.S. State Department-led joint task force that's working with Jamaican Emergency Management perform search and rescue operations in the aftermath of historic Hurricane Melissa.

It is clear that wherever the eye of the hurricane hit, there would be devastating impacts”: Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness gives an update after a monster Category 5 hurricane hit the island with violent winds and torrential rain.

The Category 5 storm ravaged western Jamaica and drenched the small community of New River, where residents were coping with a massive clean up. At least 19 people have died nationwide, officials said.

Jamaican business owner Derron Wilson has started a GoFundMe to support friends and family back home. He hasn't heard from them in days following a direct hit from Hurricane Melissa.

Bermuda residents with Jamaica connections reflected on the devastation left after Hurricane Melissa barrelled through the Caribbean island bringing flash floods, landslides and unprecedented winds.

Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s local government minister, said on Wednesday morning that rescuers were helping people who were trapped on roofs after Hurricane Melissa caused flooding.

When Jamilah Prince-Stewart got a call last week that her stepson studying in Jamaica needed to evacuate to Barbados, she didn’t have many details — only that it was urgent. “I didn’t have much information.

We’ve never seen anything like this.” That’s the message echoing from Jamaica after getting hit with the most powerful hurricane in their nation’s history.

Westmoreland parish is believed to have the second highest number of unconfirmed deaths, after St Elizabeth to the south east. The eye of the storm hit somewhere between the two neighbouring parishes. At St Elisabeth an estimated 90% of homes have been destroyed.