Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica, rages on to Cuba

(CNN, KYMA) - Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba early Wednesday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 hurricane.

Melissa is being called the storm of the century after slamming into Jamaica with devastating effect Tuesday as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.

Melissa made landfall on the island nation as a Category 5 storm with 185 mile per hour winds.

The massive scale of the destruction quickly became clear, with extensive damage reported across southwestern Jamaica.

Schools, homes, and hospitals were all affected by the hurricane. Officials said hundreds of thousands of people on the island were left without power.

After tearing across Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa barreled over the Caribbean toward Cuba.

More than 735,000 people have been evacuated in Cuba where residents and officials spent days preparing the hurricane's impact.