Melissa tore through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful storms in history, slamming Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week.

Hurricane Melissa brought devastation and death to the Caribbean as it tore through the region as one of the most powerful storms on earth in more than 150 years.

The storm will hit Bermuda on Thursday afternoon or evening, after Jamaica faced the devastation from one of the most powerful storms ever recorded.

Hurricane Melissa— one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded—is now off Cuba’s eastern coast, after leaving a trail of destruction across the large island and its much smaller neighbor, Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa is now moving northeast from Cuba after hammering the island with powerful winds and rain. As the storm scrapes Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas with its destructive force, residents in low-lying and flood prone areas have been urged to evacuate ahead of a shelter-in-place order coming tonight.

South Florida was spared a direct blow from Hurricane Melissa, but the massive storm still hit home for the millions of residents there who have deep roots in the Caribbean.

The storm left widespread destruction and at least dozens of deaths in its path. In Chicago, people are looking for ways to help.

Most of Jamaica remains without power, as our correspondent reports floods, mudslides and "palm trees tossed like toothpicks".