Battered - Melissa wreaks havoc in Jamaica

The most powerful storm in 174 years, Hurricane Melissa, unleashed its fury on Jamaica yesterday, leaving the island battered and broken.

Winds exceeding 150 kilometres per hour tore through homes, ripped roofs from schools, and obliterated roadside stalls, sending debris hurtling through communities still healing from past disasters.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a 'disaster area', as the country reels from widespread infrastructural damage and catastrophic flooding caused by the passage of Hurricane Melissa across the island.

Tuesday's decision follows advice from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie, amid widespread flooding, landslides, and severe infrastructural damage particularly across Clarendon, Manchester, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, where many communities remain cut off and roads impassable.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, said Melissa has caused "significant damage" to at least four major hospitals. These are Noel Holmes in Hanover, Black River in St Elizabeth, Cornwall Regional in St James, and Falmouth in Trelawny.

Almost 15,000 persons were in shelters across the island, and more than 530,000 Jamaica Public Service customers, representing 77 per cent of JPS' customer base, were without power last night.