Copyright TODAY
Hurricane Melissa’s death toll climbed to 46 on Friday, Oct. 31, days after the record-breaking storm barreled through the Caribbean and left behind a wake of destruction. The death toll in Jamaica rose to 19 by Friday morning, Dana Morris Dixon, the country’s minister for education, skills, youth and information, said at a Friday press conference. Dixon suggested that the death count will grow, saying, “We do expect that number will change today.” “Every single life that is lost is a huge tragedy, and so I know that these numbers are distressing, but know that we’re doing our best to retrieve the bodies and provide support to those families that need it,” she said. Beyond Jamaica, the storm killed 26 people in Haiti and one person died in the Dominican Republic, according to officials. The number of deaths climbed as the scope of the storm’s destruction became clear. Satellite imagery shows entire communities swept away by floodwater and wind. Videos on social media show Jamaican towns completely consumed by mudslides and swaths of downed trees and power lines. One video shows Jamaicans canoeing home through flooded roads in Salt Marsh. Jimetra Alexander was in Montego Bay, Jamaica, when the storm hit. “It was absolutely horrifying,” she told NBC News. “The devastation that Melissa brought is indescribable.” Jamaican officials are still struggling to restore power to the island nation and reopen its pillaged roads. As of noon ET Thursday, Melissa left more than 70% of Jamaica without power and shut down at least 82 roads on the island. “A large percentage of the Jamaican public service facilities are lying on the road,” Infrastructure Minister Robert Morgan said. “The contractors cannot touch those power lines without the Jamaica Public Service Company saying to us it is safe for us to do so.” Power outages have made it difficult for Jamaicans to reach family members. On Thursday, people could be seen pulling over on the side of highways, trying to get cell service. Kimberley Dunkley Watkins said she hasn’t heard from her younger brother, who lives in Montego Bay, Jamaica, since Monday evening. “It’s probably one of the worst experiences of my life, and I lived through Hurricane Gilbert,” she told NBC News. “So it’s rough.” At a Thursday press conference, officials acknowledged the frustration over the country’s telecommunications issues. “Please know that the government is doing everything we can to get to them. ... It may take a little time, but we’re going to do it as quickly as we can, and get aid and food to all those who need it,” Information Minister Dana Dixon said. Hurricane Melissa is a Category 1 storm with winds of 90 mph as of Friday morning. It blew by Bermuda last night, where a peak wind gust of 69 mph was reported. By Saturday, the historic Atlantic hurricane will lose its tropical characteristics — and its name — and become a strong post-tropical cyclone over the north Atlantic, brushing by the Canadian Maritimes. As the storm heads north, aid has begun to pour into the Caribbean. Jamaican Telecommunications and Transportation Minister Daryl Vaz said at a Friday press conference that the amount of aid the country is receiving is “overwhelming.” He said that 20 planes full of aid are expected to reach the island on Friday, in addition to the 13 planes that came on Thursday. Eight to 10 helicopters full of aid from the U.S. were projected to reach the island on Friday as well. “That’s the easy part,” Vaz said. “The hard part is the logistics of getting this relief into these areas in the shortest possible time.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio activated the State Department’s regional disaster assistance response team (DART) on Wednesday to assist Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas and Haiti in their recovery efforts, a department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, said in a statement Thursday. DART arrived in the Caribbean on Thursday, Pigott said. One former and two current U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday that the State Department’s response was delayed because of the government shutdown and the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The sources said that in prior years, the DART team would have been on the ground in Jamaica before the storm hit. “The United States stands with Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas, and the Cuban people as they respond to the impacts of the hurricane and remains prepared to swiftly deliver emergency relief items to communities most severely affected,” Pigott said. The United Nations said Wednesday that it was sending 2,000 emergency food boxes from Barbados, enough to feed about 6,000 people a week. “This is a terrible tragedy and there is a real sense of urgency here on the ground,” Brian Bogart, the World Food Program’s director for the Caribbean, told the U.N.’s news service.
