Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica after the storm made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.
After lashing Jamaica with dangerous winds and flooding rain, Melissa made a second landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning. Melissa then moved through the Bahamas, and next, on Thursday night, the storm will pass Bermuda as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane.
The Jamaican Defence Force has been deployed to assist in hurricane preparedness, the force said in social media posts as Hurricane Melissa approaches the island, with the JDF warning of the storm's projected "devastating impact."
"Relief supplies will be desperately needed across the island in the aftermath of the hurricane," the JDF said in a post to X. "The JDF will be integral in the recovery effort."
The National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin early Tuesday that Hurricane Melissa "is expected to reach Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as an extremely dangerous major hurricane, and will still be at hurricane strength when it moves across the southeastern Bahamas."
Melissa is expected to move across Jamaica on Tuesday, reach southeastern Cuba by Wednesday morning and the southeastern or central Bahamas later on Wednesday, the NHC said.
U.S. Air Force "Hurricane Hunters" data indicated that maximum sustained winds are nearing 175 mph, with higher gusts, the NHC said. Hurricane force winds are extending up to 30 miles from the storm's center, the NHC added.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned in a post to X on Tuesday morning that "conditions continue to deteriorate ahead of hurricane landfall."
The prime minister shared the latest forecast for the storm in a government bulletin, which noted that the "core of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica on Tuesday."
As Hurricane Melissa brings devastating conditions to the Caribbean, at least seven people have died in relation to the storm, according to the Associated Press.
Three people have died in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing, according to the outlet.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness of Jamaica confirmed on Monday that, in preparation for the storm, three people died. Some of the deaths occurred while cutting down trees and from electrocution. There have also been 15 injuries involving falling off heights, like rooftops and car accidents, officials said.
-ABC News' Jessica Gorman
