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

Hurricane Melissa brought hurricane-force gusts to Bermuda overnight and will weaken as it heads north, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Maps show its forecast path.

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.

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 is slamming eastern Cuba on Wednesday morning, Oct. 29, after hammering Jamaica on Tuesday and causing widespread damage.

A very powerful Hurricane Melissa left a trail of devastation through eastern Cuba Wednesday morning, causing extensive damage, flooding and power outages to the region.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane -- one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin. Melissa is now a Category 4 hurricane as it heads toward eastern Cuba, after bringing catastrophic winds, rain and storm surge to Jamaica.

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

Rescue operations and urgent evacuations continued in Cuba on Friday, as people remained trapped by severe flooding left by the torrential rains from Hurricane Melissa on rural areas and towns across the affected provinces on the eastern end of the island.

Travelers are finally starting to come home from Jamaica, Cuba and other islands that were impacted by the major hurricane earlier this week.