NEW DELHI: Hurricane Melissa’s confirmed death toll climbed to 49, according to media reports, after the storm unleashed devastation across the northern Caribbean before accelerating past Bermuda into the North Atlantic.

In Haiti, which was spared a direct hit but battered by days of torrential rain from the slow-moving system, authorities reported at least 30 deaths and 20 people missing. In the southern town of Petit-Goâve, a river overflowed its banks, killing 23 people, including 10 children, and damaging homes, roads, and farmlands.

Jamaican Information Minister confirmed 19 deaths as search and rescue efforts continued. The storm left hundreds of thousands without power, ripped roofs off buildings, and strewn debris across agricultural land. Jamaica’s military has called up reserve personnel to assist with relief and recovery operations.

Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane — the strongest storm ever to strike the Caribbean nation directly and the first major hurricane to do so since 1988. Wind speeds exceeded the threshold for the highest hurricane classification, placing Melissa in a tie for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of maximum sustained winds, according to AccuWeather.

The forecaster estimated total damage and economic losses across the western Caribbean at between $48 billion and $52 billion.

The storm also lashed eastern Cuba, prompting the evacuation of roughly 735,000 people. Despite widespread destruction to homes and crops, no fatalities had been reported.