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 for the country.

“No-one is able to get through to their loved ones,” Trevor ‘Zyanigh’ Whyte told the BBC from the town of White House in Westmoreland parish.

“Everyone is just, you know, completely disconnected… Every tree is on the road, right, so you can’t get too far with the cars, not even a bicycle,” he said.

On the drive from Kingston to Falmouth towards Montego Bay, the scene worsens. Walking around, there are buildings with half a roof and people drying their mattresses by the sides of the road.

People are struggling to get their lives back together and trying to clear the streets, as the power company is trying to get poles moved.

Jamaica, a very green and mountainous country, has been stripped – leaving what looks like twigs and matchsticks.

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, with 735,000 people “safely evacuated”, according to the UN’s resident co-ordinator for Cuba Francisco Pichon.

No fatalities have been reported so far in Cuba, but almost 240 communities have been cut off due to flooding and landslides, Cuban authorities said.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday in Jamaica as a category five storm, packing winds of up to 185 mph (295 km/h), 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 World Food Programme said it is collaborating with partners to coordinate logistics, cash and emergency supplies across Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The US State Department said it is deploying a disaster response team to the region to help with search and rescue operations, and assisting in efforts to provide food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits and temporary shelters.

The UK government on Friday said it is mobilising an additional £5m ($6m) to send humanitarian supplies, including shelter kits and solar powered lanterns, to help people without power and whose homes have been damaged.

That is on top of £2.5m ($3.36m) already announced in emergency humanitarian funding to support recovery in the Caribbean.

The Foreign Office is also preparing flights to evacuate British nationals unable to come home on commercial flights.