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

Tens of thousands of Jamaicans were in shelters, and more than two-thirds of the island was still without power, according to officials.

After Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica, drone footage from the island shows the trail of devastation left by the storm.

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Hurricane Melissa barreled through the northern Caribbean on Wednesday after thrashing Cuba's second-biggest city, isolating hundreds of rural communities, unleashing devastation in Jamaica and drenching Haiti,

Hurricane Melissa made landfall as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record to strike the island nation of Jamaica.