A family inspects damages outside their house at Bullbay neighborhood after Hurricane Dean passed near Jamaica, 20 Aug 2007

The Caribbean island nation of Jamaica has announced it is postponing its general election, after taking a blow from Hurricane Dean on Sunday.

The government says it will soon announce a new date for the election originally scheduled for August 27.

The party of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the People's National Party, is challenged by the Jamaica Labor Party in the election. It will be the first test of support for Ms. Miller's leadership.

Dean had winds of more than 230 kilometers an hour when it raked across the Caribbean Sea just south of Jamaica, damaging homes, snapping trees, and flooding streets. Jamaican officials say two people died in the storm.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.