Hurricane Melissa has continued its devastating sweep across the Caribbean, decimating homes and infrastructure, flooding neighbourhoods and leaving dozens dead.

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

People across the northern Caribbean are digging out from the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa as deaths from the storm climbed.

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

Flooding from Hurricane Melissa killed 25 people in Haiti while the storm still churned across Cuba on Wednesday after leaving Jamaica with widespread damage and power outages, officials said.

Prince, already facing the challenges of displacement, were burdened further Wednesday after Hurricane Melissa brought heavy rains which flooded makeshift tents and homes.

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

As is typical in disasters, nonprofit groups told The Associated Press that cash is the best way to help, since unsolicited goods donations can overwhelm already strained systems. Experts recommend using sites like Charity Navigator or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance to check out unfamiliar charities before donating.

Hurricane Melissa made its second landfall early Wednesday morning near Chivirico, Cuba, as a Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph.