WASHINGTON — Jamaica is assessing the damage after it was pummeled by one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.

At least one death was reported in Jamaica, where Melissa roared ashore on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with top sustained winds of 185 mph.

The storm later made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm early Wednesday. Cuban authorities said some 735,000 people remain in shelters after being evacuated from their homes in the island’s eastern region. Melissa was expected later Wednesday to move through the southeastern or central Bahamas, where a hurricane warning is in effect.

In Jamaica, officials told local radio stations there was extensive damage in the island’s southwestern and northwestern regions.

“There’s a total communication blackout on that side,”

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