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

Officials say at least 25 people have died across Haiti. In Cuba, officials report collapsed houses and blocked roads, with 735,000 people in shelters. Jamaica faces widespread power outages and communication blackouts.

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.

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.

The updates sent by friends and neighbors on WhatsApp confirmed what fisher Prince Davis already feared: Hurricane Melissa put a hole in the stern of his 50-foot (15-meter) fishing boat, and damaged the cabin and back deck.

In Cooper City, Brittany and Dwayne Wolfe have offered up their home as a drop-off site for diapers and other necessities. The couple are the cofounders of The Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank, and many of the organization’s volunteers and supporters grew up in Jamaica or still have family on the island.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica near the coastal town of Black River, which the government has described as “ground zero.”

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, with the possibility of intensifying to a Category 5 storm Sunday night, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean,