Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest ever recorded in the nation's history.

Hurricane Melissa is blamed for at least 19 deaths in Jamaica, bringing catastrophic winds up to 185 mph (298 kph) and storm surge that wrecked homes and public infrastructure.

The British Red Cross said, as of Saturday morning, that 72% people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters.