Forecasters say Melissa is moving toward the north-northeast at around 21 mph and is expected to continue accelerating northeastward.

The storm was making its way to the Bahamas and Bermuda on Thursday morning as Jamaica confronted the devastation from one of the most potent storms ever recorded anywhere.

Jamaicans are taking stock after Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to strike the island in modern history, barrelled across the country leaving behind a trail of ruin. Without power or phone coverage, much of the country is isolated and so information is trickling through.

High above Earth, satellites like the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel-2 watch and track storms such as Hurricane Melissa, a category 5 maelstrom. These satellites help keep continuous eyes on the tempest and provide valuable data about how these natural disasters form and how they can impact communities in a changing world.

Hurricane Melissa is south of Jamaica and is poised to make landfall as a Major Category 4-5 hurricane sometime on Tuesday. The sustained winds are currently at

At least 30 people are dead and all of Jamaica has been declared a “disaster area” after Hurricane Melissa ripped down power lines and caused widespread flooding across the Caribbean.

Melissa tore through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful storms in history. By Thursday, the storm weakened as it left the Bahamas.