Hurricane Melissa leaves recovery challenge for Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba after more than 30 killed

The storm was making its way to the Bahamas and Bermuda Thursday morning after killing at least seven in Jamaica and 27 more across the Caribbean this week.

Traffic snarled as stoplights lay among piles of debris. Once-mighty trees and power lines in ruin on streets turned to rivers. Entire communities swept away by wind and floodwater, according to satellite imagery.

Melissa left over 70% of Jamaica without power, Telecommunications and Transportation Minister Daryl Vaz said at a news conference Thursday.

At least 82 roads on the island were closed as of Thursday morning, said Robert Morgan, the country’s infrastructure minister.

"A large percentage of the Jamaican public service facilities are lying on the road,” Morgan said. “The contractors cannot touch those power lines without the Jamaica Public Service Company saying to us it is safe for us to do so."

Those are just some of the scenes of devastation Jamaica woke up to Thursday morning, 48 hours after Hurricane Melissa raged through the island nation as the most powerful storm in its history and one of the most potent ever recorded anywhere. The United Nations said the damage was on a level "never seen before."