Follow live updates on Hurricane Melissa as the death toll reaches 38 people. Recovery efforts are underway in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

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,

As aid groups and officials assess the damage, one thing is certain: Jamaica has been through an unthinkable tragedy following the most powerful storm to ever hit the Caribbean island nation.

Melissa tore through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful storms in history. By Thursday, the storm weakened as it left the Bahamas.

Jamaica has been left reeling after Hurricane Melissa tore across the island as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, leaving Montego Bay, a popular tourist destination, in ruins. New video from a Hotel Catalonia guest shows debris blanketing the ground, roofs ripped away and trees twisted and mangled from the storm’s winds.

People across the northern Caribbean were digging out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa​ on Thursday as deaths from the catastrophic storm climbed.

In southeastern Jamaica, government workers and residents began clearing roads in a push to reach dozens of isolated communities.

The storm left widespread destruction and at least dozens of deaths in its path. In Chicago, people are looking for ways to help.