The residents of tiny Dominica have "lost all what money can buy and replace" after Hurricane Maria pounded the Caribbean island early Tuesday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said.

"The winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with," Skerrit said in a Facebook post.

He appealed for "help of all kinds" but noted specifically that helicopters will be needed so that authorities can survey the damage.