People across the northern Caribbean were digging out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa​ on Thursday as deaths from the catastrophic storm climbed.

Emergency relief flights began landing at Jamaica’s main international airport, which reopened late Wednesday, as crews distributed water, food and other basic supplies.

Hurricane Melissa barreled through the Caribbean on Wednesday after thrashing Cuba’s second-biggest city, isolating hundreds of rural communities, unleashing devastation in Jamaica and drenching Haiti,

A new tropical storm has formed over the central Caribbean. Melissa could strengthen later this week as it moves toward Haiti and Jamaica.

Tropical Storm Melissa is lumbering through the Caribbean Sea and bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola.

Unlike other storms in this hurricane season, Melissa is likely to have a devastating effect on some of the most populated islands in the Caribbean.