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.

After Melissa moves away from Jamaica, Cuba is next in line for the powerful hurricane’s fury. Landfall is expected very early Wednesday morning, likely a couple hours after midnight, but impacts have already begun.

Emergency relief flights began landing at Jamaica’s main international airport, which reopened late Wednesday, as crews distributed water, food and other basic supplies.

A charity is appealing for donations to support hospitals in Cuba in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The category two storm left a trail of devastation across the Caribbean, causing landslides and widespread flooding in Cuba, where the authorities said more than 700,000 people were evacuated.

The hurricane made landfall in Cuba on Oct. 29 striking the Guamá area in Santiago de Cuba province as a Category 3 hurricane.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department had issued a formal Declaration of Humanitarian Assistance for Cuba, where U.S. government aid is rare.

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

The recent trip to Latin America comes amid high tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the Pentagon positions military assets near Venezuela.

Cuba, the biggest island in the Caribbean, is no stranger to destructive storms. But as Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic storms in history, slammed into the island, officials kept up warnings about the dangers of heavy rain, flash flooding, landslides and damaging winds.