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

Hurricane Melissa made landfall along Jamaica's southwestern coast Tuesday as an extremely powerful Category 5 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.

The National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. Thursday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean, 160 miles west-northwest of Bermuda. The hurricane is moving northeast at 38 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

The prime minister ordered mandatory evacuations as officials braced for tens of thousands to be displaced. Three people were killed and 13 others injured during preparations for the storm, the health minister said.

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.

Parts of the Caribbean began surveying the damage caused by the deadly Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica as a powerful Category 5.

The National Hurricane Center's 1 a.m. Friday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean, 260 miles west-southwest of Bermuda. The hurricane is moving northeast at 32 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

Hurricane Melissa left dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti on Wednesday, and it continued on to pass through the Bahamas as a weakened storm.

Melissa, now a Category 2 hurricane, will bring heavy rain from the Mid-Atlantic to New England as it heads toward Bermuda and Newfoundland, Canada.