Storm-ravaged communities in western Jamaica were facing dire straits Sunday, days after record-setting Hurricane Melissa left towns demolished and at least 28 people dead across the island.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed the new death toll -- nine higher than the previous tally of 19 -- and posted on X late Saturday that "there are additional reports of possible fatalities that are still being verified."

Melissa became the most intense storm to make landfall in 90 years when it barreled into Jamaica last Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane packing winds of 185 miles (300 kilometers) per hour.

It ripped a terrifying path through the Caribbean, leaving at least 31 dead in Haiti, including 10 children who drowned in heavy flooding, and ravaged parts of Cuba and the Dominican Republ

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