Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba were assessing the damage and beginning to dig out after they were slammed by Hurricane Melissa, which left dozens dead.

Authorities report at least 30 people have been killed in Haiti and 19 in Jamaica as a result of the devastating storm.

The National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. Thursday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean, 160 miles west-northwest of Bermuda. The hurricane is moving northeast at 38 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

After savaging Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, swamping Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas and skirting Bermuda, Hurricane Melissa is rapidly speeding out into the Atlantic and is expected to drop down into an extratropical cyclone later today, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba overnight after battering Jamaica as one of the most powerful landfalling storms in Atlantic basin history.

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 National Hurricane Center's 10 a.m. Friday update reported that Category 1 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean, 255 miles north of Bermuda. Packing maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, the hurricane is tracking to the northeast at 41 mph. Melissa is forecast to become an extratropical cyclone.

Now, as a weakened category 2 storm, there have been some impacts felt in the Bahamas, with Melissa tracking toward Bermuda on Thursday. Beyond that, as can be fairly typical, Melissa will weaken so that it will no longer be a hurricane or tropical storm as it moves into the North Atlantic.