The United States stands prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to Cuba following the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledges "immediate humanitarian aid" to Cuba as State Department responds to effects of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

A very powerful Hurricane Melissa left a trail of devastation through eastern Cuba Wednesday morning, causing extensive damage, flooding and power outages to the region.

Hurricane Melissa is slamming eastern Cuba on Wednesday morning, Oct. 29, after hammering Jamaica on Tuesday and causing widespread damage.

People across the northern Caribbean are beginning to dig out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa, as deaths from the catastrophic storm climbed to at least 28 across Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic,

The storm was making its way to the Bahamas and Bermuda on Thursday morning as Jamaica confronted the devastation from one of the most potent storms ever recorded anywhere.

Hurricane Melissa barreled into Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm with some of the fastest winds and strongest intensities ever recorded. The storm blew through the Caribbean island’s southwestern coast,