Hurricane Melissa live updates: No official death toll in Jamaica
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.
Key Headlines
Melissa now Category 3 hurricane
Melissa has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, with 125 mph maximum sustained winds, on its approach toward eastern Cuba.
How Hurricane Melissa ranks
Hurricane Melissa became one of the most powerful hurricanes on record to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin.
The hurricane ranks in a three-way tie with Hurricane Dorian (2019) and the Labor Day Hurricane (1935) for the strongest sustained winds at landfall, records show.
Melissa is also the strongest storm in recorded history to make landfall in Jamaica -- after Hurricane Gilbert struck the island as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph in September 1988.
Read more here.
-ABC News' Julia Jacobo
Jamaica declared a disaster area
Jamaica's prime minister has declared the country a disaster area due to Hurricane Melissa.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the order gives the government "the tools to continue managing our response to Hurricane Melissa."
No fatalities reported yet following landfall in Jamaica: Official
No fatalities have been reported so far in Jamaica since Melissa made landfall, Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica's Disaster Risk Management Council, said during a press briefing based on preliminary information.
McKenzie noted it's still early, as response crews haven't been able to reach the worst-hit areas yet.
Jamaican officials had reported Monday that three people died in Jamaica amid preparations for the storm.
During his briefing Tuesday, McKenzie said at least three families were trapped in Black River, and that rescue teams were trying to reach the area.
He described the impacts of Hurricane Melissa on several regions of the island.
The southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth is flooded and parts of Clarendon are also reporting extensive damage, he said. There have also been reports of flooding, fallen trees, power outages, landslides and storm surges, especially in St. Thomas, Portland and St. Catherine, he said.
Four main hospitals on the island all sustained damage, he said.
Nearly 6,000 people are in shelters across Jamaica as of Tuesday afternoon, according to McKenzie.