Hurricane Melissa is finally leaving the Caribbean after battering communities in Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba for days, leaving a trail of devastation that killed about 50 people.

The hurricane smashed into Jamaica with enormous force on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm, and residents were assessing their losses and the long road to recovery on Friday.

More than 60 percent of Jamaica remains without power, and nearly half of its water systems are offline.

In the historic seaside town of Black River, in southwest Jamaica, up to 90 percent of all structures were left without roofs, while the storm also snapped power lines and toppled concrete structures.

“People are hungry,” said Monique Powell as she stood watch over a stash of groceries and household items for herself and a group of residents

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