Its intensity at landfall appeared to tie an all-time Atlantic Basin record. But the devastation in Jamaica wasn't all Melissa brought to the Caribbean. Here is our recap of this historic hurricane.

Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica on Tuesday, prompting the prime minister to declare the country a disaster area, after the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.

More than 735,000 people were evacuated in Cuba by Tuesday night, Oct. 28, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a social media post. In the Bahamas, next in Melissa's path to the northeast, the government ordered evacuations of residents in southern portions of that archipelago.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a fearsome Category 5 storm. Forecasters said it could be the island's "storm of the century."

Hurricane Melissa strengthened overnight and became a powerful Category 5 hurricane on Monday as it neared Jamaica, which could take a direct hit on Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center said Melissa had 160 mph winds on Monday morning. Category 5 winds begin at 157 mph.

A demolished church, roofs blown off homes, shattered windows and debris-strewn, impassable roads: Hurricane Melissa dealt a direct hit to Jamaica's southwestern coastal communities that face a long haul picking up the pieces."It's gonna be a long road back."

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a “disaster area” after Hurricane Melissa barrelled across the Caribbean island as one of the most powerful storms on record, leaving behind a trail of devastation.