Challenge to get relief to some hurricane victims

THE road from Jamaica's capital to the seaside town of Black River was known for its lush bamboo forest that formed a natural tunnel and glowed green in the bright sun.

- JOHN MYERS JR Associated Press

But its famed bamboo stalks lay strewn and shredded across the road in Hurricane Melissa's aftermath, forcing Jamaican soldiers to chop at them with machetes in a desperate bid to reopen the main route to Black River, which the government has described as the storm's “ground zero”.

Melissa came ashore just west of the town on Tuesday, leaving up to 90% of all structures in Black River without roofs as it snapped power lines and toppled concrete structures.

One of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall, Melissa has been blamed for at least 19 deaths in Jamaica and 31 in nearby Haiti.

In the ruins of Jamaica's Black River area, people scrambled for relief.