Jamaica: at least 19 dead from Hurricane Melissa

Santiago de Cuba (Cuba), 31 October (LaPresse/AP) – At least 19 people have died in Jamaica, including a child, as a result of Hurricane Melissa, but authorities expect the death toll to continue to rise. ‘The whole of Jamaica is really devastated by what has happened,’ said Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon. Dozens of US search and rescue experts have landed in Jamaica with dogs. More than 13,000 people are crowded into shelters, with 72% of the island without electricity, authorities said. In one isolated community, residents pleaded with authorities to remove the body of a victim caught in a tree.