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

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 United States is prepared to offer immediate humanitarian aid to people of Cuba who were affected by Hurricane Melissa, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday. The department has issued a declaration for humanitarian assistance for 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.

Hurricane Melissa is slamming eastern Cuba on Wednesday morning, Oct. 29, after hammering Jamaica on Tuesday and causing widespread damage.

Four-time Grammy Award winner Gloria Estefan rues Donald Trump’s America, saying some things are now akin to Fidel Castro’s Cuba. The “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” icon said she knows people who have been “taken away” as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Sagua de Tánamo, a town in Holguín province, awoke to flooding of the Sagua River. In Contramaestre, a town in Santiago de Cuba province, Melissa’s strong winds uprooted trees and tore off sections of sidewalk.

Cuba’s president, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, warned residents to brace for a “very difficult night” as the island prepared for Hurricane Melissa to make landfall early Wednesday.