Mercy Chefs, a disaster relief organization, has established operations on Jamaica’s west side in St. Elizabeth, an area that had received minimal assistance until now, according to the organization’s founder and CEO Gary LeBlanc.

Hurricane Melissa has hit southwestern Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, causing heavy flooding and wind damage.

At first light on Wednesday, the coastal communities of southwestern Jamaica bore the devastation of being in the direct path of Hurricane Melissa.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica this week near the coastal town of Black River, which the government has described as “ground zero.”

Hurricane Melissa intensified to a Category 5 storm on Monday and continued to strengthen as it moved closer to Jamaica, where it was forecast to cause life-threatening flash flooding, landslides, and devastating damage to infrastructure. It arrived on the island’s southwestern coast around noon local time Tuesday.

Follow live updates on Hurricane Melissa as the death toll reaches 38 people. Recovery efforts are underway in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

As flights from the Caribbean continued to land in South Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, CBS News Miami caught up with a man who was on the other side of the doors, waiting for someone special.

The BBC's Will Grant witnessed the devastation in the town of Black River, as he joined an aid helicopter flight over the island.