Follow live updates on Hurricane Melissa as the death toll reaches 38 people. Recovery efforts are underway in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Hurricane Melissa is on track to pass through the southeastern islands of the Bahamas, which are sparsely populated compared to the islands in the north of the archipelago. The two islands that are in the storm’s direct path, Crooked Island and Long Island, have a total population of just a few thousand people.

As Hurricane Melissa barreled towards Jamaica, a Florida hurricane specialist’s visceral reaction underscores the severity of the storm.

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.

It is clear that wherever the eye of the hurricane hit, there would be devastating impacts”: Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness gives an update after a monster Category 5 hurricane hit the island with violent winds and torrential rain.

Hurricane Melissa has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, with dangerous winds, storm surge and flash flooding expected in Jamaica, forecasters said.

KINGSTON (Reuters) -At least 19 people died as a result from Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, the country's information minister told Reuters, bringing the total confirmed death toll from the storm to at least 44.