Hurricane Melissa roared ashore on Tuesday as one of the most powerful landfalls in Atlantic Basin recorded history.

PORT-AU-PRINCE/KINGSTON/HAVANA (Reuters) -Hurricane Melissa smashed through the northern Caribbean and was seen picking up speed as it churned across open ocean towards Bermuda on Thursday, leaving a trail of high winds and destruction from Jamaica to Cuba and Haiti in its wake.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Melissa has begun affecting the southeastern Bahamas SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba — Melissa began affecting the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Parts of the Caribbean began surveying the damage caused by the deadly Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica as a powerful Category 5.