In the day's other headlines, island nations in the Caribbean work today on rescue and recovery operations in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

The storm tore through Jamaica, leveling some communities entirely.

It also left a trail of destruction in Cuba and in Haiti.

At least 30 people are reported dead so far.

William Brangham has more.

The centuries-old port town of Black River, Jamaica is unrecognizable. All along the southwestern coast, house after house, with roofs ripped off.

The prime minister called this ground zero.

After Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, battered Jamaica on Tuesday.

In Montego Bay, residents are picking up the pieces with their bare hands.

31-year-old Gabrielle is still processing what her family lived through.

Yesterday it was horrible, horrific, terrifying.

The worst day of my entire life, the worst experience of my entire life.

The winds, the rain, it permanently damaged my childhood home,

all my trees that my dad planted, all of them are gone. We have no light, we have no water,

and we have limited amount of food items. So it's like we're cut off from the rest of the world right now in this terrifying time.

Eid has been slow to trickle in, and the vast majority of the island still has no power.

Jamaica's transportation minister said restoring communication is a top priority.

There are people who still have not been able to make contact with their families, their

loved ones, their friends, and road access is still impossible.

So you can imagine deep, deep sense of worry that is widespread across

Jamaica. What we saw was the impossibility to access the most affected areas.

Olga Isaza of UNICEF Jamaica spoke to us from the capital Kingston.

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