Rubio says US is ready to offer 'immediate humanitarian aid' to people of Cuba impacted by Hurricane Melissa

Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Thursday that the U.S. is "prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba" affected by Hurricane Melissa.

The move comes as the State Department deployed teams that are expected to arrive in the Caribbean as early as Thursday to support disaster response after Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday.

"In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation of eastern Cuba, the Trump Administration stands with the brave Cuban people who continue to struggle to meet basic needs. As in neighboring Caribbean countries, the Department is issuing a Declaration of Humanitarian Assistance for Cuba and is prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance directly and via local partners who can most effectively deliver it to those in need," Rubio said.

"U.S. law includes exemptions and authorizations relating to private donations of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods to Cuba, as well as disaster response," he added. "We encourage those seeking to directly support the Cuban people to contact us if there are any issues."

US RESCUE TEAMS TO DESCEND ON HARD-HIT CARIBBEAN AFTER CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE MELISSA'S IMPACT

People in Cuba began to clear blocked roads and highways with heavy equipment and even enlisted the help of the military on Thursday. The military rescued people trapped in isolated communities and those at risk from landslides, according to The Associated Press. No fatalities were reported after Cuba’s Civil Defense evacuated more than 735,000 people across the eastern part of the country, the AP also reported.

A televised Civil Defense meeting chaired by President Miguel Díaz-Canel did not provide an official estimate of the damage. However, officials from the affected provinces — Santiago, Granma, Holguín, Guantánamo and Las Tunas — reported losses of roofs, power lines, fiber optic telecommunications cables, cut roads, isolated communities and losses of banana, cassava and coffee plantations.

TEXAS HONEYMOONERS TRAPPED IN JAMAICA AS CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE MELISSA SLAMS ISLAND

"We went through this very badly. So much wind, so much wind. Zinc roofs were torn off, some houses completely collapsed. It was a disaster," Odalys Ojeda, a 61-year-old resident of the Santiago de Cuba province, told the news agency.

In southern Haiti, the mayor of Petit-Grove said at least 25 people were killed after a flooded river overflowed its banks, FOX Weather reported.

At least four people were confirmed dead in St. Elizabeth Parish in Jamaica because of the hurricane, FOX Weather added.

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.