The death toll is rising as aid struggles to reach parts of Jamaica

At least 19 people have died in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said, as search and rescue efforts continue and authorities try to get help to hard-hit areas.

The hurricane, one of the most powerful to hit the Caribbean, also killed at least 30 people in Haiti, officials said.

In Jamaica, “there are whole communities that look abandoned and areas that look leveled,” Dixon said, adding that there were “devastating” scenes in the western regions.

Electricity remains out for most of the island, and as people try to save damaged homes and belongings from the floods and mud, many thousands are increasingly in need of help.

There are parts of the country that have been without water for several days, and food is becoming scarcer.

Relief supplies are beginning to arrive more quickly, with the main airport in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, largely back to normal.

But smaller regional airports, some of which are located near where humanitarian aid is most needed, remain only partially operational.

Aid agencies and the military are thus bringing urgently needed supplies from Kingston over roads, many of which remain impassable in places.

Satellite images show almost all buildings in some Jamaican villages were destroyed by the hurricane.

Residents of towns in western Jamaica told the BBC on Thursday that “words cannot describe how devastating” the storm has been in the country.

“Nobody can get in touch with their loved ones,” Trevor “Yanny” White told the BBC from the town of White House in the parish of Westmorland.

“Everybody’s just, you know, completely off… Every tree is in the road, right, so you can’t get too far with the cars, even with a bike,” he said.

In Haiti, many of the storm victims died when a river overflowed in Petit-Goave. A full assessment is underway as there are still areas authorities have not been able to access.

About 15,000 people are staying in more than 120 shelters in Haiti, said UN interim country coordinator Grégoire Goodstein.

In Cuba, more than 3 million people were “exposed to life-threatening conditions” during the hurricane, with 735,000 people “evacuated safely,” according to UN Resident Coordinator for Cuba Francisco Pichon.

No deaths have been reported in Cuba so far, but nearly 240 communities have been cut off by floods and landslides, Cuban officials said.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday in Jamaica as a Category Five storm packing winds of up to 185 miles per hour (295 km/h) before battering other countries in the Caribbean.

Governments, humanitarian organizations and people around the world are pledging support for the nations hardest hit by the storm.

The World Food Program said it was working with partners to coordinate logistics, cash and emergency supplies in Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The US State Department said it has a disaster response team in the region to help with search and rescue operations and to support efforts to provide food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits and temporary shelters.

The UK government said it was sending £2.5 million ($3.36 million) in emergency humanitarian funding to support recovery in the Caribbean.

While Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti assessed the damage left in Melissa’s wake, Bermuda braced for the impact.

Bermuda’s weather service expected Melissa to be a Category 2 hurricane when it crossed the British overseas territory on Thursday evening.

Bermuda government offices will close until Friday afternoon and all schools will close on Friday.

“Until the official ‘All Clear’ is issued, residents are urged to stay off the roads so government work crews can safely assess and clear the debris,” the government said in a public alert.