Hurricane Melissa brought hurricane-force gusts to Bermuda overnight and will weaken as it heads north, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Maps show its forecast path.

Rescue operations and urgent evacuations continued in Cuba on Friday, as people remained trapped by severe flooding left by the torrential rains from Hurricane Melissa on rural areas and towns across the affected provinces on the eastern end of the island.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica this week near the coastal town of Black River, which the government has described as “ground zero.”

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has made landfall already in Jamaica and Cuba, as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall.

The 5 pm advisory from the National Hurricane Center had winds of 105 mph, keeping Melissa a Category 2 storm. Hurricane Warnings continue for Bermuda. Little change in intensity is expected Thursday night,

HAVANA/KINGSTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE >> Hurricane Melissa tore through the northern Caribbean and was seen picking up speed as it churned across open ocean towards Bermuda today, leaving a trail of high winds and destruction from Jamaica to Cuba and Haiti in its wake.