Hurricane Melissa death toll nears 50 as Jamaica relief efforts intensify and storm heads north

The death toll from Hurricane Melissa has reached 49 as the storm continued to tear through the Caribbean, heading past Bermuda, and workers in Jamaica ramped up efforts to clear roads and reach people in isolated and cut-off areas.

In Haiti, the death toll has risen to 30, with another 20 missing, the civil defence agency said on Thursday. A further 20 people were injured, it added.