The eye of the storm came ashore near Chivirico, in Santiago de Cuba Province, after tearing through Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane. Melissa is now moving northwest across eastern Cuba, lashing the provinces of Granma, Holguín, Guantánamo, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba with destructive winds and rainfall that could exceed 25 inches in some areas.

Cuban authorities say roughly 735,000 people have been evacuated from vulnerable coastal and mountainous regions, with widespread power outages already reported. Emergency teams are on alert for mudslides and overflowing rivers as the storm’s core continues inland.

The Cuban Institute of Meteorology warned that Melissa could maintain hurricane strength as it crosses the island before weakening slightly over the warm waters of the Atlantic toward the Bahamas. Officials urged residents to stay indoors and avoid flood-prone areas.

In Jamaica, the storm left behind severe destruction after its direct hit late Tuesday. The hardest-hit areas — particularly St. Elizabeth Parish — remain “almost underwater,” according to local authorities. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, power lines were downed, and transportation networks remain paralyzed.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the entire island a disaster zone, saying recovery will take weeks. Rescue workers are still combing through damaged neighborhoods to locate missing residents.

U.S. and Caribbean meteorologists continue to monitor the storm closely as it moves toward the Bahamas, where tropical storm warnings have already been issued.

Experts say Melissa is one of the most powerful late-season hurricanes in recent memory, fueled by unusually warm Caribbean waters.