At least 19 people have died in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon says, as search and rescue efforts continue and authorities try to get aid to hard-hit areas. The hurricane, one of the most powerful to strike the Caribbean, also killed at least 30 people in Haiti, officials say.

The storm will hit Bermuda on Thursday afternoon or evening, after Jamaica faced the devastation from one of the most powerful storms ever recorded.

South Florida was spared a direct blow from Hurricane Melissa, but the massive storm still hit home for the millions of residents there who have deep roots in the 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.

Hurricane Melissa's death toll climbed to 46 people on Friday, days after the record-breaking storm barreled through the Caribbean and left behind a wake of destruction

Jamaica has been left reeling after Hurricane Melissa tore across the island as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, leaving Montego Bay, a popular tourist destination, in ruins. New video from a Hotel Catalonia guest shows debris blanketing the ground, roofs ripped away and trees twisted and mangled from the storm’s winds.

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.

Hurricane Melissa has devastated communities across Jamaica and the Caribbean, leaving thousands in need of immediate assistance.