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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.