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.

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.

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 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."

Melissa is forecast to move off the northern coast of Cuba on Wednesday morning as it heads towards the Bahamas. It is expected to pass through the Bahamas as a Category 2 storm in the afternoon. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas.

Hurricane Melissa has devastated Jamaica, causing severe damage to fishing and farming communities. Prince Davis, a fisherman, discovered his boat and home were destroyed while he was in Nicaragua.