Jamaica cleans up catastrophic destruction as the deadly Category 1 storm continues moving through the Atlantic

After making landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday and a second landfall in Cuba early Wednesday, Hurricane Melissa is now moving north through the Bahamas.

As of 5 p.m. ET, Melissa had been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. It was located around 80 miles southeast of the central Bahamas, moving northeast at 16 mph.

As the storm moves north, the National Hurricane Center continues to warn of dangerous winds and extreme rainfall for the Bahamas.

“On the forecast track, the core of Melissa is expected to move across the southeastern or central Bahamas this evening, and is forecast to pass near or to the west of Bermuda late Thursday and Thursday night,” the NHC said in its latest advisory.

In eastern Cuba, heavy rainfall brought “life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides,” according to meteorologists.

The NHC is warning that storm surge of 4 to 7 feet “above normally dry ground is possible in the southeastern Bahamas today, and minor coastal flooding is possible in the Turks and Caicos Islands today.”

Melissa has been blamed for dozens of deaths across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In Jamaica, at least eight people have been reported dead, including an infant, according to the Associated Press. The Jamaican government said it could not yet confirm a death toll. At least one person has been reported dead in the Dominican Republic.

In Haiti, the mayor of Petit-Goâve said at least 20 people died after the banks of the La Digue river burst and flooded nearby homes. The total number of confirmed dead in Haiti was 25 as of Wednesday evening, according to the Associated Press.

The storm is forecast to maintain its strength as it heads northeast into the Atlantic overnight. It is expected to still be a hurricane when it passes Bermuda late on Thursday.

Our live coverage has ended for the day.

Live91 updates