Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 strength as it neared Jamaica with up to 30 inches of rain and a life-threatening storm surge.

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.

Satellite imagery captured before and after in areas in Jamaica showcase the widespread destruction caused by the major Category 5 hurricane that packed winds of 185 mph and made landfall as the third-strongest Atlantic Basin hurricane on record.

Celebrity Beyond’s Oct. 26 itinerary will visit the Western Caribbean rather than the Eastern Caribbean, according to the cruise line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group. The ship will visit Costa Maya in Mexico, Belize and Roatan, Honduras.

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

Paula Robinson, who lives in Preston, has eleven members of her family living in Jamaica, including her mum, who she last spoke to on Monday. She said her mum told her "'if I never hear your voice again, just know I love you". "I told her you are going to hear my voice again!'"

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared Jamaica a “disaster area” after Hurricane Melissa barrelled across the Caribbean island as one of the most powerful storms on record, leaving behind a trail of devastation.

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of the 2025 Atlantic season, made landfall in Jamaica Tuesday as possibly its worst storm in recorded history.