Communities across the Caribbean are reeling in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which ripped through Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola, the island comprising Haiti and the Dominican Republic, this week. While officials said that damage assessments remained underway to determine the full scope of the destruction,

With power down, problems with communications and navigating parts of the island treacherous, the authorities in Jamaica have not yet been able to give a detailed assessment of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Melissa. But the devastating impact of the Category 5 storm on communities is starting to be revealed by satellite imagery.

Images from a helicopter over Black River, a coastal town of 5,000 in southwestern Jamaica, show the extent of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa sped up early Tuesday making landfall in Jamaica around 1 p.m, tying the record for the strongest landfall in the Atlantic.

Hurricane Melissa has caused devastating flooding in Haiti, leading to at least 20 deaths on the island. Many homes have been washed away in the floodwaters and people have been clearing debris with their bare hands, Pascal Bimenyimana from the World Relief NGO says.

Hannah Grubbs, a content creator with over 150,000 followers on TikTok, has been criticized over her Hurricane Melissa videos.

The center of Hurricane Charlie skirted the southern coast of Jamaica on the night of Aug. 17, 1951, before it made landfall early the next morning as a strong Category 3 storm, bringing destructive winds to the entirety of the island, according to the NHC. The strongest winds at Kingston were measured at 110 mph.

A tourist visiting Jamaica described the record-breaking Hurriane Melissa as "a freight train with a jet engine."