At first light on Wednesday, the coastal communities of southwestern Jamaica bore the devastation of being in the direct path of Hurricane Melissa.

Follow live updates on Hurricane Melissa as the death toll reaches 38 people. Recovery efforts are underway in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The scale of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa is emerging, with dozens of people known to have died in Haiti and four deaths reported in Jamaica - and the storm is now approaching the Bahamas.

Hurricane Melissa, which is stronger than Hurricane Katrina, is set to bring catastrophic winds, flash flooding and high storm surges to the island of Jamaica.

Most of the island of two million people was without internet service, and major airports were closed. Kingston, the capital, was mostly spared.

This special report covers the catastrophic landfall of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa in southwestern Jamaica, bringing record-breaking 185 mph winds and widespread destruction. . The Jamaican energy minister has stated that 'a third of the island is experiencing power cuts and citizens have been asked to brace for things to get significantly worse'.

The storm, which intensified to Category 5 on Monday, Oct. 27, is predicted to last through Tuesday and bring catastrophic flash flooding, violent winds and possibly deadly landslides, NBC News report ed. Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaican land Tuesday afternoon and is expected to make its way to southeastern Cuba next.

Melissa is forecast to become the first Category 5 landfall in the Atlantic Basin since Dorian roared into the Bahamas in 2019. There have been 32 Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic since the use of satellites began in 1966, with 13 of those having formed in the past nine years.

Hurricane Melissa is on track to pass through the southeastern islands of the Bahamas, which are sparsely populated compared to the islands in the north of the archipelago. The two islands that are in the storm’s direct path, Crooked Island and Long Island, have a total population of just a few thousand people.

The Advocate spoke with Stone Town, 21, a Louisiana newlywed trapped at a resort on Jamaica, over a shaky phone connection Tuesday around noon. At the same time, Melissa made landfall on the south shore.