Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category 5 storm early Monday, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to bring catastrophic flooding to the northern Caribbean.

Officials continue to assess the full extent of the devastation wrought by Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever to make landfall.

At least 20 people, 10 of them children, are confirmed to have died in Haiti in flooding caused by Hurricane Melissa, officials say. Most were killed when a river burst its bank in Petit-Goave, leaving 25 dead, the town's mayor said.

Hurricane Melissa's death toll has risen after the storm left a trail of destruction in Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba — and now heads for the Bahamas.

Officials say at least 25 people have died across Haiti. In Cuba, officials report collapsed houses and blocked roads, with 735,000 people in shelters. Jamaica faces widespread power outages and communication blackouts.

Melissa’s terrifying trip through the Caribbean also piled on evidence of the influence of a warming ocean on an evolving hurricane landscape.

The storm's slow movement is expected to bring a deluge of rain to multiple countries in the Caribbean, and prolong its dangerous impacts over a period of several days.

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, with the possibility of intensifying to a Category 5 storm Sunday night, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean,

In Cooper City, Brittany and Dwayne Wolfe have offered up their home as a drop-off site for diapers and other necessities. The couple are the cofounders of The Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank, and many of the organization’s volunteers and supporters grew up in Jamaica or still have family on the island.