Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica as the most powerful storm ever recorded in the island nation, before barreling into eastern Cuba on Wednesday, battering Santiago and inundating rural areas with severe flooding.

A Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 mph (298 kph) when it barrelled into Jamaica, Melissa had been downgraded to a still dangerous Category 3 when it hit Cuba with sustained winds of 120 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

“Life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding and landslides, and damaging hurricane winds are ongoing this morning,” the centre said.

The historic storm blasted western Jamaica, demolishing homes, knocking down swaths of trees and washing out roadways. Authorities did not yet release details of fatalities but said they exp

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