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

In Jamaica, 25,000 people crowded into shelters after the hurricane destroyed homes and left most of the island without power.

Hurricane Melissa left at least dozens dead and caused widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, toppled utility poles and water-logged furniture dominated the landscape Wednesday.

Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category 5 storm early Monday, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to bring catastrophic flooding to the northern Caribbean.

Respire Haiti’s local team is surveying flooded communities, identifying areas hit hardest by Hurricane Melissa, and coordinating relief efforts for families

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 has risen after the storm left a trail of destruction in Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba — and now heads for the Bahamas.

Hurricane Melissa has claimed at least 20 lives in Haiti through devastating flooding, even though the storm never made direct landfall. Aid organizations are calling for donations.

The storm's slow movement is expected to bring a deluge of rain to multiple countries in the Caribbean, and prolong its dangerous impacts over a period of several days.

Hurricane Melissa hit Haiti’s West department, killing at least 20 people, including 10 children, and leaving others missing. As of Wednesday, the unofficial death toll was 23 since the storm first began pummeling the country.