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

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.

Sagua de Tánamo, a town in Holguín province, awoke to flooding of the Sagua River. In Contramaestre, a town in Santiago de Cuba province, Melissa’s strong winds uprooted trees and tore off sections of sidewalk.

The world's most powerful storm of the year, with winds up to 185mph, could “influence” the weather in the UK as it weakens and tracks across the Atlantic. Hurricane Melissa is the third and strongest Category 5 hurricane of this year's hurricane season,