Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledges "immediate humanitarian aid" to Cuba as State Department responds to effects of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

Before the storm barreled north over Cuba, at least seven people died across the Caribbean as the storm approached Jamaica. See the storm's impact on Cuba.

Rescue operations and urgent evacuations continued in Cuba on Friday, as people remained trapped by severe flooding left by the torrential rains from Hurricane Melissa on rural areas and towns across the affected provinces on the eastern end of the island.

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly called for an end to a U.S. economic embargo on Cuba despite lobbying by Washington that included sharing an accusation that up to 5,000 Cubans are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AP) — The rumble of large machinery, whine of chain saws and chopping of machetes echoed through communities across the northern Caribbean on Thursday as they dug out from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa and surveyed the damage left behind.

The United States stands prepared to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to Cuba following the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday.

Officials continue to assess the full extent of the devastation wrought by Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever to make landfall.

The U.N. General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba for a 33rd year.

Hurricane Melissa had weakened some by Wednesday morning after hitting eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of roughly 120 mph, bringing life-threatening flooding, landslides and dangerous winds to the island a day after it bombarded Jamaica .

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