SANTIAGO DE CUBA: Hurricane Melissa left dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, fallen utility poles and water-logged furniture dominated the landscape Wednesday. A landslide blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz in Jamaica’s St. Elizabeth parish, where the streets were reduced to mud pits. Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Winds ripped off part of the roof at a high school, a designated public shelter. “I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” resident Jennifer Small said.

Melissa is forecast to make landfall on the island Tuesday and cross Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday.

Jamaicans urged to seek shelter immediately, and Cuba, Haiti and Dominican Republic also threatened