At least 19 people have died in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon has said, as search and rescue efforts continue and authorities try to get aid to hard-hit areas.
The hurricane, one of the most powerful to strike the Caribbean, has also killed at least 30 people in Haiti, officials said.
In Jamaica, there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened, Dixon said, adding there are devastating scenes in western regions.
Electricity remains out to most of the island and as people try to salvage damaged homes and belongings from floodwaters and mud, many thousands are growing increasingly desperate for aid.
There are parts of the country that have been without water for several days and food is growing increasingly scarce.
Aid supplies are starting to arrive more rapidly with the main airport in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, largely back to normal. But smaller regional airports, some of which are located near to where humanitarian assistance is most needed, remain only partly operational.
As such, aid agencies and the military are bringing in the urgently needed supplies from Kingston via road, many of which remain unpassable in places.
Satellite imagery shows nearly all buildings in some Jamaican villages have been destroyed by the hurricane.
Residents of towns in western Jamaica told the BBC on Thursday that words can't explain how devastating the storm has been on the country.
In Haiti, many of the victims in the storm died when a river overflowed in Petit-Goave. A full assessment is ongoing, as there are still areas that authorities have not been able to access.
Around 15,000 people were staying in more than 120 shelters in Haiti, interim UN co-ordinator for the country Gregoire Goodstein said. In Cuba, more than 3 million people were exposed to life-threatening conditions during the hurricane.
The hurricane made landfall on Tuesday as a category five storm before impacting other countries in the Caribbean. Governments, humanitarian organisations, and individuals around the world are pledging support for the nations hardest hit by the storm.
The US State Department is deploying a disaster response team to the region to help with search and rescue operations. The UK government is also mobilising £5m ($6m) to send humanitarian supplies to help those affected.
While Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti assess the damage left in Melissa's wake, Bermuda braced for impact as the hurricane approached.
