Melissa unleashed catastrophic flooding in Haiti, where at least 25 people were reported killed and 18 others missing, mostly in the country’s southern region. Steven Guadard, who lives in Petit-Goâve, said Melissa killed his entire family. “I had four children at home: a 1-month-old baby, a 7-year-old, an 8-year-old and another who was about to turn 4,” he said. Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said Hurricane Melissa killed at least 20 people in Petit-Goâve, including 10 children. It also damaged more than 160 homes and destroyed 80 others.

Officials warned that 152 disabled people in Haiti’s southern region required emergency food assistance. More than 11,600 people remained sheltered in Haiti because of the storm. “It is a sad moment for the country,” said Laurent Saint-Cyr, president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council. He said officials expect the death toll to rise and noted that the government is mobilizing all its resources to search for people and provide emergency relief. Meanwhile, in Cuba, people began to clear blocked roads and highways with heavy equipment and even enlisted the help of the military, which rescued people trapped in isolated communities and at risk from landslides. No fatalities were reported after the Civil Defense evacuated more than 735,000 people across eastern Cuba. They slowly were starting to return home. The small, iconic town of El Cobre in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba was one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. (Jamaica Gleaner)