Jamaica has taken a battering from Hurricane Dean, being hit by severe winds and heavy rain as the storm passed south of the island overnight.
The Category Four storm is pushing winds of up to 145mph (230km/h).
A Jamaican reporter told the BBC that many people who had chosen to remain in their homes were forced to flee, such was the severity of the storm.
Dean is now expected to pass close by the low-lying Cayman Islands, before hitting Mexico later on Monday.
Dean has already claimed at least six lives in the eastern Caribbean.
Areas of the Cayman Islands and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula are being evacuated, amid meteorological reports the storm could intensify into a Category Five hurricane in the next few hours.
As of 0200 (0600GMT) Dean was located about 150 miles (240KM) south-east of Grand Cayman, travelling west at 20mph, the US National Hurricane Center reported.
The eye of the storm was some miles out to sea as it passed by Jamaica, but it still caused widespread damage as it careered along the south coast.
Trees have been uprooted and roofs ripped off houses in southern Jamaica, as Hurricane Dean's devastating journey through the Caribbean continues.
PM Portia Simpson Miller declared a month-long state of emergency, widening the powers of security forces.
The country's general election was due to take place on 27 August, but the storm has cast doubt over that date.
Rhian Holder from Christian Aid described to the BBC the scene as the storm moved in:
"It's very, very loud, the wind is roaring and shrieking. The trees are breaking, you're hearing branches snapping, you're hearing thuds, things falling, you're not sure what it is."
As heavy rain began to fall, there were reports of mudslides north of Kingston and the St Mary area on the island's north-east coast.
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